- Former president Donald Trump said his best memory of the presidency is making "rich friends."
- The anecdote is included in excerpts of the New York Times' Maggie Haberman's new book.
- Trump's has long been fixated on wealth and fame.
Former President Donald Trump said that the "rich friends" he secretly made while in office had made his term in the White House worth it, according to new extracts from a book by The New York Times' Maggie Haberman.
In extracts from the book, "Confidence Man," published in the Atlantic on Sunday, Trump discussed whether serving as president had been worth it.
"The question I get asked more than any other question: 'If you had to do it again, would you have done it?'" Trump was quoted as telling Haberman during one of the three interviews he had with Haberman after leaving office.
"The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here's the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are," he said according to the excerpt.
Haberman wrote that she found the remark "jarring."
"Reflecting on the meaning of having been president of the United States, his first impulse was not to mention public service, or what he felt he'd accomplished, only that it appeared to be a vehicle for fame, and that many experiences were only worth having if someone else envied them," she wrote.
Trump has long placed his celebrity and wealth at the heart of his political brand, and frequently boasts of his riches at political rallies.
Since his days as a real estate developer has cultivated friendships with celebrities and members of the financial and business elite as he sought to to enhance his fame.
However, he has been accused of distorting his wealth, and last week New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the former president and several key associates of business fraud. Trump has denied the accusations.