I learned a lot about Donald Trump today.
I still wont vote for him, but up to this point I thought he was just a racist demagogue who catered to the extreme right, which actually seems to be a great way to get ahead in politics these days. Earlier today I saw news about
a new satirical movie about Trump pop up on my Facebook timeline.
I thought it was funny and well done, but the idea that
Trump wrote (or rather, hired a reporter to write it for him) a "how to get rich" book in the 80s fascinated me, and with all the hype around him today it might be fascinating to take a peek into the mind of a man I now hear about all the time on the news.
I found a copy online and read it earlier today. While I still don't agree with what he's doing, I do now understand what he's doing.
The book isn't very long and contains a "Week in the Life of Trump" section, an 11-step guide to "getting what you want" and his life story up through 1985. Most of the book is a kind of passive bragging; Trump jokes about making $50 million deals for casinos in New Jersey like they're nothing. Bragging is so ingrained in the man's psyche that he does it simply by talking, whether he's conscious of it or not. He's also ruthless, and knows exactly how create controversy in order to get free publicity, kind of like how he's running his campaign for president.
I'll share a few select quotes to show what I mean.
He pretty much explains his entire life strategy here:
You can have the most wonderful product in the world, but if people don’t know about it,
it’s not going to be worth much. There are singers in the world with
voices as good as Frank Sinatra’s, but they’re singing in their garages because
no one has ever heard of them. You need to generate interest, and you need to
create excitement. One way is to hire public relations people and pay them a lot
of money to sell whatever you’ve got. But to me, that’s like hiring outside
consultants to study a market. It’s never as good as doing it yourself.
One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good
story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I
understand that. The point is that if you are a little different, or a little
outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going
to write about you. I’ve always done things a little differently, I don’t mind
controversy, and my deals tend to be somewhat ambitious. Also, I achieved a lot
when I was very young, and I chose to live in a certain style. The result is that the
press has always wanted to write about me.
He offers a great little lesson on Demagogy 101 here:
The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People
may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those
who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that
something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.
I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration—and a very
effective form of promotion.
From the "Day in the Life" segment:
5:15 P.M. I call Henry Kanegsberg, the NBC executive in charge of choosing a
new site for the network’s headquarters. We’ve been courting NBC for more than
a year, trying to get them to move to our West Side yards site—seventy-eight
acres along the Hudson River that I bought a year ago and on which I’ve
announced plans to build the world’s tallest building.
I know Henry has just been shown our latest plans for the site, and I’m following
up. I mention that Bloomingdale’s is dying to become the anchor store in our
shopping center, which will give it real prestige. I also tell him the city seems
very excited about our latest plans. Then I say we expect to get our preliminary
approvals in the next several months.
Kanegsberg seems enthusiastic. Before I get off, I also put in a plug for NBC’s
locating its offices in the world’s tallest building. “Think about it,” I say. “It’s the
ultimate symbol.”
This man is a master manipulator. His ego is already astronomical and I feel the presidential run is more of an attempt to stroke that ego than really a desire to run the country. Even if he doesn't win, the promotion of his name around the world he gets just by running is worth it to him.
