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Donald Trump resembles John Gotti
Slate: A Mafia expert explains why Trump feels so much like a mobster
Rep. Adam Schiff tweeted that the transcript of President Donald Trumps phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reads like a classic mob shakedown. Many in the anti-Trump parts of Twitter have been echoing this line of attack this week, but its far from the first time weve noticed that Trump sounds like someone from The Sopranos. (Remember Because a long time ago, he did me a favor and I know all about flipping?)
But how far does this analogy go? And does the American public, conditioned by years of moviegoing and media coverage to love a brooding Mafioso, see a mob shakedown as a bad thing? Selwyn Raab, a former investigative reporter for the New York Times who covered organized crime, is the author of Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of Americas Most Powerful Mafia Empires. I caught up with Raab on Friday to ask what he thought about the latest Trump-Mafia comparisons. Our conversation, which Raab began, has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Selwyn Raab: Its important to remember that Trump learned his ABCs for success from Roy Cohn, who was mixed up in the Mafia, defended them, and mentored Trump exactly how to succeed in life. Always be aggressive, take no prisoners ...
The subtlety is like Do me a favor. Gotti would never say, Hit that guy. Hed just say, Do me a favor, get rid of that stone in my shoe. He would just say, Hes a problem. You never caught Gotti saying, Lets do a hit job on him, but the understanding is clear to their acolytes. They know what the code words mean.
[more]
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/09/trump-mafia-behavior-analogy-ukraine-transcript.html
Rep. Adam Schiff tweeted that the transcript of President Donald Trumps phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reads like a classic mob shakedown. Many in the anti-Trump parts of Twitter have been echoing this line of attack this week, but its far from the first time weve noticed that Trump sounds like someone from The Sopranos. (Remember Because a long time ago, he did me a favor and I know all about flipping?)
But how far does this analogy go? And does the American public, conditioned by years of moviegoing and media coverage to love a brooding Mafioso, see a mob shakedown as a bad thing? Selwyn Raab, a former investigative reporter for the New York Times who covered organized crime, is the author of Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of Americas Most Powerful Mafia Empires. I caught up with Raab on Friday to ask what he thought about the latest Trump-Mafia comparisons. Our conversation, which Raab began, has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Selwyn Raab: Its important to remember that Trump learned his ABCs for success from Roy Cohn, who was mixed up in the Mafia, defended them, and mentored Trump exactly how to succeed in life. Always be aggressive, take no prisoners ...
The subtlety is like Do me a favor. Gotti would never say, Hit that guy. Hed just say, Do me a favor, get rid of that stone in my shoe. He would just say, Hes a problem. You never caught Gotti saying, Lets do a hit job on him, but the understanding is clear to their acolytes. They know what the code words mean.
[more]
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/09/trump-mafia-behavior-analogy-ukraine-transcript.html
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Donald Trump resembles John Gotti (Original Post)
LessAspin
Nov 2019
OP
dweller
(23,607 posts)1. Cohen said he talked in code ...
and even Cohen sounded and acted moblike
✌🏼
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)2. Gotti had better hair.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)8. Gotti had BRAINS.
Better tailors, better barbers, better EVERYTHING.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)9. Even ethics, it seems
keithbvadu2
(36,640 posts)3. Except Gotti had some style
Response to keithbvadu2 (Reply #3)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)4. Exactly what his Admin is like. And a lot of cities tolerated the mob.
lastlib
(23,135 posts)6. That's insulting to Gotti......
...who spent ten years rotting in prison before he died there.
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)10. You read my mind.
LessAspin
(1,151 posts)7. The Rude Pundit