NEW YORK (AP) – Fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took plenty of shots – some funny, some purposely not – at Republican President Donald Trump on Thursday as he made his first public speech since being forced from his job last month.
The former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York drew laughter when he told a packed house at The Cooper Union college that he insisted on being fired when top federal prosecutors appointed by other presidents were asked to resign because he “thought that’s what Donald Trump was good at.”
The quip, a reference to Trump’s longtime role on “The Apprentice” reality TV show, was among several humorous jabs at the president, who initially asked him to stay on, only to later let him go.
In more serious moments, Bharara addressed his surprise at being forced from the job he had held for seven years, saying he “had this meeting with some fanfare at Trump Tower in which the president-elect asked me to stay on another term.” He said Trump was “very explicit about it” at the November meeting.
He said Trump then “asked me to tell the world and the press corps downstairs that he wanted me to stay on for another term.”