What does Trump really want? "The girl & the car. Respect, maybe. Could definitely use a mortgage"
(A fascinating look at his only other 'serious' attempt at the Presidency -- same old Trump. It's a good read)
What Does Donald Trump Really Want? The girl and the car, obviously. Respect, maybe. And he could definitely use a mortgage--soon. Whatever he's after, he's his own worst enemy.
(FORTUNE Magazine)
By Jerry Useem Reporter Associate Theodore Spencer
April 3, 2000
(FORTUNE Magazine) – Donald Trump wasted no time in being Donald Trump. "I've brought some things for you," he said, handing me a sheaf of papers as he boarded his private 727. These included some glossy brochures and a copy of New York Construction News, which, it seemed, had named Trump owner and developer of the year for 1999. "Owner and developer of the year," he pointed out with his uncommonly stubby fingers, "which is unusual."
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That difficulty is compounded by Trump's astonishing ability to prevaricate. No one's saying Trump ought to be held to the same standards of truthfulness as everyone else; he is, after all, Donald Trump. But when Trump says he owns 10% of the Plaza hotel, understand that what he actually means is that he has the right to 10% of the profit if it's ever sold. When he says he's building a "90-story building" next to the U.N., he means a 72-story building that has extra-high ceilings. And when he says his casino company is the "largest employer in the state of New Jersey," he actually means to say it is the eighth-largest.
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A couple of people close to Trump and otherwise sympathetic to him suggested to me that he's unfit to be running a public company. Given that the low stock price seems partly a function of Wall Street's allergic response to Trump's flamboyance--analysts call it "the Donald factor"--the obvious solution would be for Trump to remove himself from management. One industry executive estimates that step alone would bring a 30% bump in the stock.
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It occurred to me, though, that for a guy who seems to value "loyalty" so much, Trump's media-soaked life must feel like a series of betrayals, as journalist after journalist chooses to accept his advances and then turns on him. While at first blush Trump can come off as a thick-skinned believer in the adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity, that doesn't quite hit the mark: Like a true publicity-holic, Trump repeatedly indulges in publicity and then rails against the consequences. "A lot of reporters are scum," he told me, denouncing "that little moron" from such-and-such financial publication and the "piece of shit" from another. Recently, he threatened to sue George after the magazine seemed to suggest that he had filed for personal bankruptcy in the early '90s. This got me thinking that the cause of his behavior perhaps wasn't so much egotistical as medical. I even called a psychiatrist to get his clinical assessment of Trump. (He suggested an overmastering need to escape the shadow of his father, Fred, a successful outer-borough developer who died last year and whom Trump rarely mentions.)
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