President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE's longtime ally Roger Stone outlines the billionaire's thinking as he decided to run for the White House in his new book.

In an excerpt of "The Making of the President 2016: How Donald Trump orchestrated a Revolution," Stone describes a discussion with Trump on the 2000 White House race he said took place the previous year.

"He looked me squarely in the eyes and, with a hint of a smile, said: 'Roger, I want to take the next step. I want to see if Donald Trump can win the White House,'" Stone writes, according to Axios.

"'Is this country ready for President Trump? The one thing I do know is that I'm better than any of those assholes who are running,'" Stone recalled Trump saying.

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In the book, Stone also writes about the president's choice toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign to bring on Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway as top advisers.

"[I]n the final phase, Trump found Steve Bannon had genius ability to get his messages packed into the powerful mantras the thousands attending rallies planned on chanting, while Kellyanne Conway displayed equal acumen in keeping Trump's temperament level through the long airplane rides," Stone writes, according to Axios.

Stone's book will be out Jan. 31.

Updated at 3:30 p.m.

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the year Trump weighed in on the presidential candidates.