He demanded obedience from his five children. He despised weakness and despised people who apologized.
The oldest son, named Fred after his father, disappointed his parents when he wanted to become a pilot instead of taking after his father and becoming a lying cheating scumbag.
Donald’s personality served Fred’s purpose. Donald was the better showman, the better liar, better able to grab headlines and bring the family fame.
Once, to try to bail out his failing casino, Fred paid $3 million in cash for gambling chips with no intention of using them, to pump money into Donald’s casino.
It wasn't enough.
Later in his life, when Fred became senile, Donald tried to cheat his siblings out of their share of the inheritance in the "codicil" incident.
Mary learned that she and her brother had been disinherited after her grandfather died.
To punish them, Maryanne (Donald’s oldest sister, the one who became a federal judge) got the idea to cut off their health insurance, even though Mary’s brother’s son, a baby, had serious health needs.
Later Mary discovered that in fact, the estate was worth close to a billion, and Donald (the “deal maker”) sold the entire estate for cash in a stupid deal that left $300 million on the table.
That’s when she discovered tax crimes.
She was watching her uncle unravel American democracy, and decided to live up to the hyperbole of her grandfather and uncle by being the very “best” at something.
In her words: “I had to take Donald down.”
She called the New York Times and handed over all 19 boxes of documents and (obviously) decided to write this book.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
I'll add: The book is well written.
In fact, Donald hired her to ghostwrite his third book. He had his publisher fire her when she couldn't figure out what he did all day 🤣
Till tomorrow . . .😴
The book has a Tolstoy-like quality: It's about family rituals and dynamics, and how families hurt each other.
It also reads like a lurid beach novel.
Many "what-if" scenarios assume a level of competence he doesn't have.
The book is about us and how democracies die.
It's early here. I need ☕️then will continue.
Yes, Trump can be manipulated, but that kind of control would require only one person (or people with a single agenda) to have access to Trump.
Trump: “I know better than the generals, believe me.”
Here’s where fascism meets Max Weber’s views of power.
archive.org/details/weber_…
(1) Traditional / monarchy
(2) What we might call Cult of Leadership (fascism)
(3) rule of law/ democracy
Social and alternate media provide examples of people who claim to have all the answers, tell people what they want to hear, and instantly gather a worshipping following.
Stage one, the “autocratic attempt,” is when potential regime change from democracy to autocracy is still reversible.
politicalscience.ceu.edu/events/2016-11…
Thus if the puppet-masters succeed in 2020, it will be because Trump's enablers and the true believers managed to successfully control and manipulate public opinion.
Trump's true believers hear the libs melting down over how Team Trump is all-powerful and this makes them love Trump more.
Psychologist push back and say that Trump isn’t using a set of tactics. He’s acting from impulse.
Putin studies Ivan Ilyin. Trump takes cues from Putin. We know that Bolsonaro takes his cues from Trump.
How do we know? Because Steve Bannon has coached both of them on their methods.
mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…
But only a sick-o can do these things.
We fight back. How? More democracy. See
terikanefield-blog.com/things-to-do/