Trumpology: A Master Class --- the best thing you will read this week
DU'er Skidmore's posted this yesterday in GD 2016.
Politico convened 5 seasoned NYC writers who have written about Trump and his father. This is a really deep look into Trump, his relationship with his father, tax abatements, the mob, etc.
Please read this. 5 short Internet pages.
Skidmore's thread
Politico direct link
In early March, Politico Magazine convened these five Trumpologists: Barrett, a longtime Village Voice reporter; Blair, a bestselling author; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DAntonio; Hurt, an author and videographer; and OBrien, a writer and editor at Bloomberg. They gathered, together for the first time, for a discussion at Trump Grill, a restaurant in the atrium of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattanwhere Trump lives and his company is based. Moderated by Politico Editor Susan Glasser and senior writer Michael Kruse and presented in edited form below, the conversation ranged from the emotional wounds that drive Trump to the roots of his demagoguery to his alleged ties to the mob. The rest of the media might still be struggling to explain Trumps political rise, but these five writers saw his ambitionand egofrom the very early days. Heres how Trump the candidate came to be.
I mean, I had his tax returns at that time. We got themprobably Tim got themfrom the [New Jersey] Division of Gaming Enforcement, and Donald was worth nothing. He was worth nothing. Even the $35 million credit line that they started with for Trump Tower was signed by Fred.
OBrien: So this whole notion that hes said a lotthat, Oh, I got a million dollars from my fatherthats just pure hokum. His fathers political connections and his financial connections launched him, kept him supported. His father bought $3.5 million worth of chips at Trump Castle [the Atlantic City hotel and casino] when the bonds were coming due, to keep him afloat so he could make a bond payment. He inherited, probably conservatively, over $150 million from Fred, so thats more than $1 million, just for the record.
Blair: The New Jersey Generals, which gets him onto the sports pages, which gets him up to a national level. So the branding he had in place, so by the time the first bankruptcy comes up, the brand is the thing they dont want to let go of. They dont want to foreclose and not have the name, which is so counterintuitive that the mind boggles. Like, wait a minute. This guy is in corporate bankruptcy, but his namebut thats how it was. He could get the over-the-barrel piece for the banks, and hes been doing it ever since. Its the over-the-barrel piece which he did with the Republican Party now. How do you get them so they cant get rid of you, they cant let you go? And hes really good at that.
Beartracks
(12,761 posts)Fascinating read. Thanks for posting.
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Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Nitram
(22,671 posts)By some people who are in a position to know. A must-read!