O’REILLY: But wait … The fact of the matter is we just played the clip [of Trump’s remarks] where you said, “He was captured, and I like people who weren’t captured.” Now, you know that wasn’t correct. He was on a bombing mission. He was shot down. He was tortured. He could have been released but said no because he wanted to stay with his captured comrades. Come on, Donald, you know that the way that came off wasn’t correct.
TRUMP: Bill, no matter how you say it, what I said, including my remarks right afterward, right off the stage … and Sharyl Attkisson is highly respected, she said it was very unfair the way the media reported it.
O’REILLY: Maybe that was unfair, but you yourself—and I’ve known you for a long time and I want you to be honest—you do think John McCain is a hero. I know you do.
TRUMP: I do, and by the way, I said it. I actually said it four times.
* * *
OF COURSE, THE most efficient thing Donald Trump could have done there was simply to apologize for the “captured” remark. But that could not happen because it goes against Trump’s personal philosophy, one that few people understand.
But his children do.
O’REILLY: Your father’s not a guy who really admits mistakes.
TRUMP JR.: No, he doesn’t.
O’REILLY: Have you ever heard him admit a mistake … Has he ever said to you, “Don, I’m really sorry I made a mistake”?
TRUMP JR.: No. What he will do when he is wrong, and he knows it, he’ll make small talk, and he’s not a small talk kind of guy. And I’m like, “It’s okay, you can say you’re sorry.” [And he’ll say,] “What are you talking about?”
O’REILLY: Why doesn’t he admit mistakes?
TRUMP JR.: I think he recognizes that in the world of mob mentality, you get no credit for being sorry. You get no forgiveness; you get no quarter.
O’REILLY: Do you think he sees it as weakness?
TRUMP JR.: I think there’s an element of that, too. It’s just another sign of weakness if you own it. [Better] to move on and say this is what I’m going to do [in the future]. I think the strategy has played out pretty well for him.
* * *
AND IT HAS. Many Americans have forgiven Donald Trump his trespasses because they believe his job performance is more important than his foibles. Trump has correctly assessed that his appeal lies in being brash, unrepentant, and successful. Everything else is background noise.
If you think about it, Trump’s personal philosophy is shocking for a person in the public arena. But there is no question that his flamboyant presentation holds strong appeal for millions of people.
Somehow, Donald Trump figured out that his Pied Piper flute played a very different tune, one that might lead him to vast power. He just had to let the folks know what his viewpoint on life actually was. And being an entertainer on national television gave him that solid-gold opportunity.
* * *
THE BACKSTORY ON The Apprentice is fairly straightforward. In the early 2000s, Mark Burnett, who developed the hit program Survivor for CBS, was looking for another property. He pitched Donald Trump with a concept that various contestants would compete for a corporate job with nice money attached to the winner.
Trump would be the rich mogul who decides who gets kicked off the corporate “island” each week. It was Survivor with nice grooming, and it immediately appealed to the businessman Trump because he knew the following things:
He was the sole star, and the plot lines would always feature him as a superhero in business: a strong, successful guy who rules his domain.
His company would receive 50 percent of the profits with no investment on his part other than time. In fact, it appears that his overall compensation for The Apprentice clocked in at north of $200 million.
Survivor had been huge, and Mark Burnett was hot in Hollywood.
The Trump Tower would be the primary set (for a nice fee).
His actual work time was short. He shows up, ad-libs most of the dialogue, and leaves.
His other properties and overall brand are featured on the program on a regular basis, giving him sensational marketing opportunities at no cost.
He is seen worldwide as very powerful, the ultimate successful guy in America.
For Donald Trump, The Apprentice was the best deal he ever made, and the smart money knows it set him up for a presidential run.
Researching Trump’s fourteen seasons on The Apprentice is pretty much a waste of time. Mark Burnett requires employees on all his shows to sign nondisclosure agreements—violate that, and you get sued. Of course, I could use anonymous sources, many of whom would trash Donald Trump. But that would be inappropriate because I couldn’t possibly know why the anonymous source was denigrating Trump. There are also people who say good things about Mr. Trump’s appearances on The Apprentice. Jeff Zucker, who presently runs CNN, was an NBC executive at the time, and he heaped lavish praise on Trump. Now Zucker is perhaps Trump’s worst enemy, as his network has turned into a 24/7 Trump-bashing outfit.
As they say in Hollywood, it’s complicated. So, let’s just stick with the facts.
In 2004, Donald Trump and Mark Burnett appeared on a panel in Los Angeles to promote The Apprentice. The star said he initially had reservations about doing a reality show: “I don’t want to have cameras all over my office, dealing with contractors, politicians, mobsters, and everyone else I have to deal with in my business. You know, mobsters don’t like, as they’re talking to me, having cameras all over the room. It would play well on television, but it wouldn’t play well with them.”
For his part, the astute Burnett recognized Donald Trump’s appeal to so many people. He said this while sitting next to his star on that panel: “Donald will say whatever Donald wants to say. He takes no prisoners. If you’re Donald’s friend, he’ll defend you all day long. If you’re not, he’s going to kill you. And that’s very American. It’s like the guys who built the West.”
The Trump-Burnett team succeeded on a scale rarely seen in the entertainment industry. But more important, American history would be directly affected by their reality show—which really had only one reality in it: Donald Trump ruled.
* * *
IN 2019, THE uber-left New Yorker magazine ran a hit piece on Mark Burnett written by Patrick Radden Keefe. The guy tried hard in the story to brand Donald Trump a racist, and wrote a number of unflattering things about him. But the piece really amounted to nothing. At one point, the word-assassin unsheathed his knife this way: “Trump’s natural idiom is vulgarity, and the targets of his ire—Colin Kaepernick, ‘shithole countries,’ any African-American who asks him a tough question—are clearly not chosen at random.”
Clear to whom? Does anyone think Donald Trump would not have scorched a white football player who championed a movement to kneel during the national anthem and who wore socks depicting police officers as pigs?
Anyone?
Donald Trump and Mark Burnett, the creator of Survivor, in the control room of their new show, The Apprentice, Trump Tower, New York, September 2003.
And how about CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta, whom Trump hammers all the time? I believe he’s not an African American.
The only reason I even mention the New Yorker attack is to document once again that what you read and hear about Donald Trump is largely fiction. The truth is much more nuanced. And here’s the truth about The Apprentice: it was the single most important vehicle in Donald Trump’s quest to be president of the United States.
The Apprentice convinced millions of people that the businessman was far more than a real estate mogul. Over a period of eleven years, the psychology of the show gave Trump the aura of authority, accomplishment, and vast influence.
Thus, in 2015, Donald Trump knew the table had been set. He believed that America was ready for a strongman in politics. He watched a lot of cable news and did not like what President Obama was doing. He would have fired Mr. Obama from The Apprentice.
So, well
beyond revved up, citizen Trump decided to take his money, fame, and ambition into the world of presidential politics. As always, he had a plan of his own design. No consultants, no paid political action committees, no giant fund-raising apparatus—Trump was coming alone, and hell was coming with him.
But most important, America would never be the same.
PART II
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WASHINGTON, DC
APRIL 16, 2015
7:30 P.M.
Donald Trump sits at a well-appointed table in the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel. He is attending the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, a charity event that raises money for journalism scholarships. This is the nation’s ultimate press social, and tonight President Barack Obama again is the keynote speaker. Comedian Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live is the host.
Mr. Trump has been invited to the event by me, your humble correspondent, and is surrounded by Fox News people as well as Martha Stewart, Billie Jean King, actress Kelly Rutherford, and Brody Jenner, all of whom have seats at the table.
The dinner is a prestige item that blends show business with journalism—not that the two are separated anymore. Over the years, I have conversed with an incredible variety of people at the function, including the singer Katy Perry, the rapper Ludacris, Attorney General Eric Holder, the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, and a variety of senators and congresspeople.
But there is always tension inside the huge ballroom because of ongoing feuds and the personal loathing that thrives in the worlds of politics and media. It is not a good-natured event, although it pretends to be.
On this night, Donald Trump is subdued, not yet a publicly announced candidate for president. As usual, he is polite to those who approach him, posing for pictures and making small talk.
Also as usual, I ask him questions about certain famous people he knows. His answers are always pointed and sometimes very funny.
But there is nothing funny about the relationship between Donald Trump and President Obama. Four years ago, at this very dinner, in this very room, Mr. Obama savaged Trump in his speech from the dais. It was 2011, and the real estate mogul was thinking about bailing from The Apprentice and challenging the president in 2012. Perhaps with that in mind, Donald Trump had ramped up the phony birth certificate crusade, clearly teeing off Barack Obama.
Comedian Seth Meyers, who despises Donald Trump, hosted the 2011 dinner, which made a televised ambush a virtual certainty. As Donald Trump sat next to his wife, Melania, at a table purchased by the Washington Post, Meyers began introducing President Obama, who was adored in the room.
Upon taking the microphone, Mr. Obama did not waste any time.
* * *
“MY FELLOW AMERICANS, Mahalo. It is wonderful to be here at the White House Correspondents’ dinner. As some of you heard, the state of Hawaii released my official long-form birth certificate.
“Hopefully, this puts all doubts to rest. But just in case there are any lingering questions, tonight I’m prepared to go a step further. Tonight, for the first time, I am releasing my official birth video.”
At this point a clip from The Lion King appears on two large screens flanking the dais. The crowd laughs heartily, but not Donald Trump, who sits stone-faced.
President Obama continues: “Now, I warn you, no one has seen this footage in fifty years, not even me.…
“I want to make clear to the Fox News table—that was a joke. That was a children’s cartoon. Call Disney if you don’t believe me. They have the original long-form version.”
As the cameras zero in on a stiff Donald and Melania Trump, the president reels off some other lines away from the birther stuff. But soon enough, he returns to his main theme.
“Donald Trump is here tonight! Now, I know he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than Donald. And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?
“But all kidding aside, obviously we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example, just recently in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice, at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was lack of leadership. And so, ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil Jon or Meat Loaf. You fired Gary Busey! And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir, well handled.
“Say what you want about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House.”
A picture of the White House then flashes on the screen along with the words: “Trump White House Resort and Casino.”
Barack Obama’s comedy bit was expertly delivered, and the message was clear: Donald Trump was a joke.
Looking back, I see that there is absolutely no way President Obama ever, in a million years, thought that the man he was mercilessly mocking at the Correspondents Dinner would someday be sitting where he sat: in the Oval Office.
Irony doesn’t even begin to cover it.
In a harbinger of things to come, the liberal press went wild celebrating Obama’s takedown of Trump. Never mind that it was an easy dunk because Mr. Obama commanded the microphone; the president’s supporters were delirious with joy.
For his part, Donald Trump tried to stay classy, San Diego. He said this after the dinner: “The president was making jokes about me. I was having a great time. I was so honored, and honestly, he delivered them well.”
* * *
FIVE YEARS LATER, the tone at the press dinner was a bit different. President Obama was on his way out of office, and few people, if any, knew how serious Donald Trump was about taking his place.
I must confess I had no idea that in just two months, Mr. Trump would announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination. I had invited him to the dinner because, historically, those things are long and boring. I knew Trump would entertain me in conversation because he always did.
Sitting a few feet away from us, the president and First Lady made small talk with those seated at the head table even as Donald Trump made casual conversation at the Fox News gathering. Although both Donald and Barack would never admit it, they have a few major things in common.
President Barack Obama speaks as his “anger translator,” played by Keegan-Michael Key, gestures during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton, April 25, 2015, in Washington, DC.
Donald and Melania at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, 2015.
First of all, the two men are off-the-charts ambitious and calculating when it comes to achieving their personal goals. Both use golf as a social tool. Each man is meticulous in personal appearance. Neither easily admits a mistake.
Presidents Obama and Trump both take slights very personally. They hold grudges. They are generally suspicious of people, and they are not effusive with affection, at least not in public.
I have enjoyed my personal time with both men and believe that I understand their life views. Finally, I know they do not respect each other.
Barack Obama firmly believes Donald Trump raised the birth certificate issue because of his skin color and his father’s Islamic faith. But there is some pointed evidence that this is not true. There is no question that Trump sought to diminish Obama, but he does that to all his perceived enemies, no matter what color they are. And, as stated earlier, Trump’s plan was to galvanize political support among Americans who disliked President Obama by demonizing him in a very personal way.
The birth certificate.
Here is backup for my assessment: If you study Donald Trump’s public confrontations, they almost always devolve into personal insults: “Crooked Hillary,” “Lyin’ Ted (Cruz),” “Little Marco (Rubio),” that kind of thing.
Pe
rhaps the best example of Donald Trump’s slash-and-burn strategy occurred in December 2006, when Rosie O’Donnell, the cohost of The View, attacked Trump for berating a contestant in his Miss USA pageant. It seems Tara O’Connor, who won the competition, had some drug and alcohol skeletons that were brought to the public. Trump held a press conference saying O’Connor deserved a “second chance.”
O’Donnell, who was once friends with Donald Trump, apparently didn’t like that press conference and let Trump have it on national TV.
“And there he is, his hair looping, saying, ‘Everyone deserves a second chance. I’m going to give her a second chance.’ He’s the moral authority? Left the first wife, had an affair. Left the second wife, had an affair. Had kids both times. But he’s the moral authority for twenty-year-olds? Donald, sit and spin, my friend.”
Almost immediately, Donald Trump threatened a lawsuit and blasted back.
“When Rosie talks about moral compass—what kind of moral compass does she have? I mean, just look at that face. Can you imagine her poor girlfriend having to kiss that every night? You can have her. I did something very nice for a very fine young lady. I gave her a second chance. Rosie O’Donnell didn’t want me to give her a second chance. Of course, Rosie would like to spend a little time with her. That I can guarantee you.”
Both Trump and O’Donnell are Caucasian, so race was not a factor here. But if Trump had spoken disparagingly of Whoopi Goldberg, it would have been. That I can guarantee you.
At this point, in 2006, I did not completely understand Donald Trump’s overall public demeanor. So, I invited him on my cable news program to discuss it in the context of Rosie O’Donnell.
The United States of Trump Page 9