- Joined
- Apr 9, 2025
- Messages
- 71
- Points
- 8
I worked in Trump Tower for 5 years ... not for Donald Trump, but within his vicinity. In all of that time, I only ran into him a handful of times, but it seems that my encounters were pretty typical of the experiences most of his tenants share.
(Photo: Andrew Harnik / AP)
When you're one-to-one, or few-to-one with Mr. Trump, he comes across as a genuinely interested, well-mannered, business man. He asks how things are going in the building, if there's anything he can do or improve, and he offers to help without being asked for anything. It is the opposite of how he portrays himself in the media. He's the king of concierge. The character he portrays in the media couldn't be more different.
... Or is the king of concierge the character, and TV-Trump really him? That's the billion dollar question.
Mr. Trump reminds me of the child who loves attention, but doesn't know the difference between good attention and bad attention. We all know the type; under most circumstances, that child might be a well behaved, kind, and caring, but he can turn into a monster if he realizes nobody has noticed him for 15 minutes. The key difference is that the child has plenty of time to learn, and Mr. Trump ... well, he's already learned that any attention is good attention, and the American media is to blame for that one.
It isn't hard to see that much of Mr. Trump's success could easily be attributed to his disparate people-skills. If he wants to do business with you, he can win you over individually, but, if he needs to get his name out there, raise his profile, distract the media, he'll simply say something shocking, ignorant, hateful, inflammatory, ie. "newsworthy", and, he won't win us all over, but he'll reach millions of ears, win some of them over, and get attention from the rest.
He's the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of business and politics.
I have nothing bad to say about Dr. Jekyll, but don't get me started on Mr. Hyde.
Minor Addition: Per a commenter’s suggestion, I’ll add that the timeframe I worked in Trump Tower was end-of-2009 thru mid-2015. I left right before Citizen Trump took that infamous escalator ride to announce his candidacy, but I was still in the neighborhood and regularly visiting my associates who remained in the building throughout the whole campaign. As such, I was witness to the rollercoaster of complete incredulity to primary-winner to president-elect. In my assessment, the campaign was a publicity stunt that took on a life of its own, and, anecdotally, that seemed to be the feeling shared by Trump’s employees and close associates, although it was never something spoken explicitly, only alluded to.
(Photo: Andrew Harnik / AP)
When you're one-to-one, or few-to-one with Mr. Trump, he comes across as a genuinely interested, well-mannered, business man. He asks how things are going in the building, if there's anything he can do or improve, and he offers to help without being asked for anything. It is the opposite of how he portrays himself in the media. He's the king of concierge. The character he portrays in the media couldn't be more different.
... Or is the king of concierge the character, and TV-Trump really him? That's the billion dollar question.
Mr. Trump reminds me of the child who loves attention, but doesn't know the difference between good attention and bad attention. We all know the type; under most circumstances, that child might be a well behaved, kind, and caring, but he can turn into a monster if he realizes nobody has noticed him for 15 minutes. The key difference is that the child has plenty of time to learn, and Mr. Trump ... well, he's already learned that any attention is good attention, and the American media is to blame for that one.
It isn't hard to see that much of Mr. Trump's success could easily be attributed to his disparate people-skills. If he wants to do business with you, he can win you over individually, but, if he needs to get his name out there, raise his profile, distract the media, he'll simply say something shocking, ignorant, hateful, inflammatory, ie. "newsworthy", and, he won't win us all over, but he'll reach millions of ears, win some of them over, and get attention from the rest.
He's the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of business and politics.
I have nothing bad to say about Dr. Jekyll, but don't get me started on Mr. Hyde.
Minor Addition: Per a commenter’s suggestion, I’ll add that the timeframe I worked in Trump Tower was end-of-2009 thru mid-2015. I left right before Citizen Trump took that infamous escalator ride to announce his candidacy, but I was still in the neighborhood and regularly visiting my associates who remained in the building throughout the whole campaign. As such, I was witness to the rollercoaster of complete incredulity to primary-winner to president-elect. In my assessment, the campaign was a publicity stunt that took on a life of its own, and, anecdotally, that seemed to be the feeling shared by Trump’s employees and close associates, although it was never something spoken explicitly, only alluded to.
