Mika in NYT Interview: Dina Powell Is in White House Because of Me

Mika Brzezinski is taking credit for putting in place one of President Donald Trump’s now top national security advisers, Dina Powell.

Brzezinski made the claim in an interview with the New York Times on Friday.

“Dina Powell was in there because I brought her to Trump Tower and introduced her to Ivanka and Donald,” Brzezinski said. “I will just say that, on camera and off, we hoped for the best.”

Powell, a veteran of the George W. Bush administration and one of several Trump recruits relocating to the White House from Goldman Sachs, was at first brought onboard to work on economic development with Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to the Associated Press.

Powell, an Egyptian-American, now serves on Trump’s National Security Council. Mika Brzezinski is the daughter of the late National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski.

The New York Times reported in Friday’s article that the move from economic advisor to security council was a decision made by Trump’s National Security adviser H.R. McMaster:

(A person familiar with Ms. Powell’s ascent at the White House, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, confirmed Ms. Brzezinski’s description of the introduction, but said her move to the National Security Council from an informal advisory role with Ivanka Trump came at the behest of H. R. McMaster, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, on the advice of outside experts.)

In April, the Associated Press also reported on Powell’s move up within the Trump administration:

National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said he recruited Powell “because of her exceptional expertise and leadership skills, to lead an effort to restore the strategic focus of the national security council. She has already accomplished this shift in a few weeks, establishing great relationships across our government and with key international allies.”

Buried in the New York Times article is an admission from Scarborough that his coverage of the Trump presidency has been overwhelmingly negative.

“I mean our coverage when the voting started was probably 90 percent negative,” Scarborough told the Times. “He’s always shocked when he does something offensive and we attack him for it.”