Editor, Times-Union:
He was born into an extremely wealthy family. He grew up in a mansion and was driven to school by a chauffeur. He was labeled a bully by his classmates, was sent to boarding school and eventually to a military school. In later life, after the death of his older brother, he became the understudy and heir apparent of his wealthy father, Fred Trump, Sr.
“Donald Trump’s biographers all seem to agree that what Fred Trump did impart to his son was an indelible lesson: There are two kinds of people in the world — killers and losers — and like his father, Donald had to be a killer ... the killers take what they want, however they need to take it. Rules? Norms? Laws? Institutions? They’re for suckers. The only unpardonable sin in Trumpworld is the failure to act in your own self-interest.”
— David Axelrod, The Atlantic, April 22, 2024
So good son Donald attempted to become the successful man his father groomed him to be — but without the business acumen to “fill the bill.” Despite the enormous wealth at his disposal, Donald proved time and again he did have the killer instinct and ruthlessness; however his business sense fell short. With several failed business attempts, at least six declarations of bankruptcy, and a rising reputation as a playboy and con man, Donald fell short of Fred’s expectations.
Past failures of Donald’s business ventures resulted in his fines/paybacks (in the millions of dollars) because of a fraudulent college scam and a fraudulent charity scam. His attempt to run casinos was a failure. His Trump organization was dismantled because of insurance and bank fraud.
Donald’s personal development did not fare well either. Five children by three wives (each cheated upon while married to him), sexual harassment accusations from dozens of women, one jury’s guilty verdict of sexual assault, and another jury’s guilty verdict on 34 counts of business fraud stemming from a personal “indiscretion.”
As a politician, Trump honed his killer instincts (at least in his own eyes) by aligning himself with and praising the strength and power of dictators like Putin, Xi, Orban, Un, and others who became his models, his mentors.
Donald did become a success though. His ability to trick, to fool, to convince millions of followers that he is their new Messiah, their savior, their retribution, proves he could “take what he want[s], however [he] need[s] to take it.”
Try as he might to continually act in his “self-interest” —to be a “killer” and not a loser, neither Donald Trump nor his followers have a clue as to the dangers he has unleashed and the fact that he has been a tool all along and will prove to be an expendable tool when/if his plan to become the next big dictator of the world succeeds. He does not realize that he is not the one pulling the strings. He never was. He never will be.
The Heritage Foundation has plans for him.
Jeanne Tuka Schutz
Winona Lake, via email