President Donald J Trump – Part II? Not impossible for the politician, media personality, and businessman who self-admittedly prefers to fight, not fold.
By Nichola Marie
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” These were the words former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald John Trump shouted, fist pumping in the air, even as he clasped his bloodied ear, and was escorted offstage shortly after the assassination attempt on him on July 13 this year at an open-air campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Shot and wounded by a 20-year-old man — who was subsequently shot and killed by the US Secret Service’s counter sniper team — Trump was taken to a hospital, treated, and released later that same day. Two days later, he made his first public appearance after the shooting at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wearing a bandage on his ear. This gesture sums up the never-say-die spirit of the man who simply will not hang up his gloves in public life. He isn’t fazed easily; in fact, he apparently isn’t fazed at all.
However, just when it looked like the assassination attempt could ensure Trump’s return to the White House, days later the Democrats pulled a rabbit out of their hat, with President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat presidential candidate. Suddenly, it was anyone’s game again.
More twists and turns are to be expected, continuing up to the election date on November 5, 2024. Either way, Trump isn’t throwing in the towel.
Putting Up A Fight
As an opinion piece in the ‘New York Times’ reminded us, in ‘The Art of the Deal’, published in 1987 and considered the foundational document of Trump studies, Trump had written, “When people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my general attitude, all my life, has been to fight back very hard.” While the fights he spoke of in the book focused on winning tax breaks and fending off lawsuits, in his 2000 book, ‘The America We Deserve’, he called for higher battles. He wrote that the American dream is dying because of excessive regulation, onerous taxes, racism and discrimination, and while the United States sends troops around the world, it can’t seem to look after its own kids at home. He asked, “What about their American dreams?” adding that he was considering a run for president because “when you mess with the American dream, you’re on the fighting side of Trump.”
Playing To His Strengths
So, what would be some of this former President’s strengths that convinced the US people to trust him and give him their vote in 2016? Identifying his qualities as a leader, UK-based leadership and management journalist Sally Percy shared an analysis in ‘Forbes’ in 2018. These were her views, in a nutshell –
Achievement: “As far as high achievers go, it’s hard to think of anyone else on Earth who has had a more successful career if you measure success on the basis of fame, money and power. Of course, there is an important caveat here, which is that Trump had the advantage of being born into a wealthy American family – undoubtedly a great launch pad for a high-achieving life.” She alluded to his then-estimated fortune of $3.1 billion, earned mostly through property, and of course, his US presidential election win in 2016 that confounded the world.
Authenticity: Percy defined Trump as an authentic leader, explaining, “He means what he says and he will say what he means, even if it is utterly unpalatable to the people who are listening to him.” She reasoned that in a world that stresses on authenticity but is actually hugely inauthentic and PR and marketing-driven, Trump is an exception to the unwritten rule. “When he takes to Twitter, he doesn’t hold back in any way. He lets us know exactly what he thinks, whether we like it or not. When you think about it, the idea of the most powerful person in the world sharing his thoughts directly with the masses is a real social phenomenon that could completely transform the future of politics.”
Vision: With a vision that emphasises ‘America First’, Trump focused on “jobs for Americans, a smaller US trade deficit, a crackdown on illegal immigration and the end of freeloading European nations achieving their military security at the expense of the US defence budget.” Not much to fault there…
Weaving Wealth
Trump’s path to achievement began when he was born, the fourth of five children to father Frederick (Fred) Christ Trump, a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. He attended the New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school; Fordham University in the Bronx (1964–66); and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Working full-time for his father’s business after graduation, he helped to manage its holdings of an estimated 10,000 to 22,000 rental housing units. In 1974, he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the Trump Organization.
In the late 1970s and the 1980s, he greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to Manhattan and later to Atlantic City, New Jersey.
In the 1980s, he invested heavily in the casino business in Atlantic City, acquiring properties that included the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During this time, he also purchased Mar-a-Lago, a 118-room mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, built in the 1920s; a 282-foot yacht, then the world’s second-largest, which he named the Trump Princess; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle.
While many of his businesses suffered and went bankrupt when the US economy fell into recession in 1990, his fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later years of the decade. He also went on to enjoy a considerable financial windfall from the success of ‘The Apprentice’, a reality television series in which he starred. The Emmy-nominated show reportedly directly earned him nearly $200 million over a 16-year period, and enhanced his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. He also marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures.
Political Gains
Trump registered as a Republican in 1987 but would switch between other parties, before returning to the Republican party again in 2012. Announcing his candidacy in June 2015, his campaign was initially not taken seriously by political analysts, but he quickly rose to the top of opinion polls. Declared the presumptive Republican nominee in May, he won the 2016 presidential election against Democratic party candidate Hillary Clinton while losing the popular vote. Trump’s political positions during the campaign were also described as populist, protectionist, isolationist, and nationalist, and his comments and actions as racially charged, racist, and misogynistic. His election and policies sparked numerous protests. Yet, he had won… and could well repeat that feat all over again this year.
First Couple Again?
Meanwhile, Trump’s wife, former first lady Melania Trump, has remained largely missing from his campaigning. Sources, however, insist there is no rift between them and divorce is not on the cards. Incidentally, Trump’s marriage with Melania is his longest yet. In 1977, Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children — Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric — before the couple divorced in 1992. In 1993, Trump married American actress Marla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany; they divorced in 1999. In 2005, Trump married Slovenian model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year.
In a rare display of emotion, Melania reacted to the attempted assassination attempt on Trump, releasing a statement which read: “When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realised my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change. …A monster who recognised my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. …The core facets of my husband’s life — his human side — were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.”
Now that’s a recommendation fit for a king – or a president-in-waiting!
