Liberty Nation’s Sarah Cowgill embarks on this three-part series to examine not only how Donald J. Trump became President of the United States, but also why. And what was it in his background that gave him the skills, personality, and drive to achieve what just 43 other people have managed?
Almost 19 months after what is likely to go down as the most stunning election upset in U.S. history, a large swathe of the American electorate remains bewildered and disconcerted over the ascendancy of Donald J. Trump to the presidency. Even today, much of the Republican Party – not to mention the Democrats, socialists, progressives, and the leftist media — remain mystified that Hillary Clinton is not putting her feet up on the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.
As she often says to whoever will listen: What happened?
And so, the Socialist Millennial Progressives (or whatever they currently identify as), resemble a cluster of ten-cent dreidels, their world askew and spinning on a wobbly surface. All this angst while the regular folks in MAGA country put down their AR-15s long enough to celebrate a changing of the guard.
Thus, there is a question we must ask. While we’ve been indoctrinated with the media’s perspective — a view of Trump through a very skewed lens — have we done our due diligence on the Donald? Who is he? How and why did he ascend to where he is at today?
Are we a cog in the Donald J. Trump master plan, or is he the man we drafted to clean up a mess generated by three decades of the same malfeasance perpetrated by the left and right, almost interchangeably?
In retrospect, how did we miss the necessary rise of The Donald to the loftiest office in the land? Whether Trump was reluctantly dragged to the stage or a willing, crafty participant, has been much debated. Perhaps it was neither. It just may be that his elevation to Commander-in-Chief was ordained.
Portrait of the Trump family, from left to right: Fred, Frederick, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Christ, and John, 1915
The Colorful Drumpfs
Freidrich Drumpf, born in Kallstadt, Germany in 1869, left the old country to pursue an American dream at age fifteen. By the age of 22, the entrepreneur Americanized his name to Fred Trump and launched his first business, a late-night restaurant in the Seattle underbelly, alongside the district’s saloons, opium parlors, pawn shops, and brothels. From there, he followed the money of a gold rush up the western coast, opening lodging for miners with a few amenities that the upper crust of society steered well clear of. He died along with 675,000 Americans in the 1918 Influenza pandemic.
His son, Fred Junior, inherited a small fortune and later made his millions in New York City by working hard, building apartments for working-class people, and staying invisible behind the scenes until the iron was hot in the fire. He amassed his millions quietly; a quality that his son would not emulate.
Don’t Bite The (rotten) Big Apple
Donald Trump was handed the reins of the family’s Brooklyn real estate business at the age of 25. He infiltrated New York society in a calm and personable manner, which attracted political leaders and media-types. But he built his own following, making Manhattan his playground by infiltrating The Village Voice and New York Post, and building relationships with the young, upstart reporters with easy access and perhaps a few perks here or there. Donald, the young whipper-snapper, took their calls without hesitation. And media people eat that stuff up.
But politically speaking, Trump was still wet behind the ears and not groomed in the ways of working the system with tact and diplomacy. Although father Fred was in tight with the local pols, Donald was unabashedly critical of New York City Mayor Abraham Beame for the mess his beloved city was in and the direction he sensed it was headed under the man’s ineffectual leadership. In Trump’s eyes, Beame had done little during his time as mayor, and what he had attempted was unsuccessful in the face of utter decay. When the mayor had finally resorted to begging banks, state, and federal governments for assistance — all of which declined — Trump pounced.
New York was known in those days as Fear City; garbage piled up from lack of sanitation workers, crime was rampant on under-patrolled streets, and folks openly used on most corners. The diminutive mayor was ground zero for Trump to blame for the condition of the Big Apple. Trump and likeminded business leaders pointed the finger at Beame, leading the charge to whack the old guard and install someone — anyone — who wouldn’t do more damage. This was to be Donald’s first experience of a coordinated, negative, campaign that would become his “tell” in politics.
Wayne Barrett, like Trump, wasn’t afraid to upset the rotten apple cart. The rookie Village Voice reporter in a 2015 interview about Trump, reminisced “dark times are times of great opportunity for people with great stealth,” referring to the young scion ready to attack and reclaim the once great city. And the first battle of note was resuscitating and resurrecting the landmark Commodore Hotel that put Trump on everyone’s radar.
Big Hair, Yuuge Momentum
The late 70s and early 80s gave us great music, big hair, questionable fashion choices, and an unparalleled interest in America’s most wealthy people. Trump was suddenly hounded by television shows, including Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach (champagne wishes and caviar dreams), and Rona Barrett’s much-touted gossip segment on several ABC shows.
It was the 1988 interview with Barrett that saw the idea of a presidential run first bandied about in public. When asked, Trump admitted he did not see himself wanting the job saying, “I think it’s a very mean life.” He left out the part about running and went straight to the part of being president, but finished with “I would dedicate my life to this country.”
And he has.
Hey Buddy, Wanna Run this Cycle?
In every election cycle, from 1988 on, the mills have churned with rumors of Trump running for president. And he has baited those mongers every step of the way. Let’s briefly review his stances over time:
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2000 – Reform Party – “I understand this stuff. I understand good times and I understand bad time. I mean, why is a politician doing a better job than I am?”
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2004 – “Very seriously” considering a run. “Very, very, seriously”
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2008 – Independent – “I think Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States.”
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2012 – Republican – “I always said the worst president was Jimmy Carter, but he’s now the second. Barak Obama is the worst president in the history of the United States.”
The 2008 cycle appears to have been the catalyst for the Trump presidency and he turned bashing the Democrats up to maximum volume for the yahoo Americans had settled for: Barack Hussein Obama. Patriots of this nation watched in horror as their president bowed to Middle East dictators and crammed unaffordable healthcare down their collective throats, all while dragging their country, kicking and screaming, into a global economy and Marxist environment.
Trump’s uncanny knack for timing has served him well as we witnessed his commanding presence overthrow the Republican elite. How could he not believe he was called to return America to her former reputation and glory? But the question remains; did voters draft this man to become the leader of a battered, but not broken, nation, or did Trump simply decide to sit down behind the storied Resolute desk in the Oval Office and take control?
Look out for part two of this series tomorrow on Liberty Nation.
