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underpants

(182,281 posts)
Sun Sep 18, 2016, 03:12 PM Sep 2016

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 D’Antonio; Hurt, an author and videographer; and O’Brien, 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 Manhattan—where 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 Trump’s political rise, but these five writers saw his ambition—and ego—from the very early days. Here’s how Trump the candidate came to be.


I mean, I had his tax returns at that time. We got them—probably Tim got them—from 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.
O’Brien: So this whole notion that he’s said a lot—that, “Oh, I got a million dollars from my father”—that’s just pure hokum. His father’s 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 that’s 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 don’t want to let go of. They don’t 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 name—but that’s how it was. He could get the over-the-barrel piece for the banks, and he’s been doing it ever since. It’s the over-the-barrel piece which he did with the Republican Party now. How do you get them so they can’t get rid of you, they can’t let you go? And he’s really good at that.





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Trumpology: A Master Class --- the best thing you will read this week (Original Post) underpants Sep 2016 OP
"He’s the consummate example of what his voters rail against." Beartracks Sep 2016 #1
Kick for later Cracklin Charlie Sep 2016 #2
Wow! This is a powerful discussion of who Trump really is. Nitram Sep 2016 #3

Beartracks

(12,761 posts)
1. "He’s the consummate example of what his voters rail against."
Sun Sep 18, 2016, 03:50 PM
Sep 2016

Fascinating read. Thanks for posting.

=================

Nitram

(22,671 posts)
3. Wow! This is a powerful discussion of who Trump really is.
Mon Sep 19, 2016, 10:32 AM
Sep 2016

By some people who are in a position to know. A must-read!

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