Sunday, August 21, 2016

David Cay Johnston - The Making of Donald Trump (Book Review)

David Cay Johnston is a respected investigative journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.  He has followed Donald Trump since the 80's.  In this book he exposes Trump for the crook and scoundrel that he is.

Trump's father, Fred Trump, was notorious in New York for racism and shady business deals.  Donald learned from the master.  He inherited millions from his father.  His statement that he started with a million dollar "loan" from his father is absurd.

How anyone can read this book and even consider voting for Trump would astound me.

The author sized Trump when he first met him as a P.T. Barnum.  P. X

Trump has hid his lifelong connections with the mafia, drug traffickers, and assorted crooks very well.  P. XIII

German roots.  P. 3

Donald is utterly ignorant on just about everything.  P. 19

His greatest personal value is to always get even. Revenge is his lodestar.  He cannot accept any criticism.  He always has to strike back, and this has been true his entire life.   P. 25

His mentor was Roy Cohn, chief lawyer for Senator McCarthy.  P. 33

Trump says that Cohn once told him that he had spent more than two-thirds of his life under indictment for one thing or another.  P. 34

Trump's statements about his net worth over the years have varied so greatly that his word is worthless.  P. 77

It is documented that Trump would call reporters and pretend to be one of his associates and brag about himself, and he planted stories in the press about imaginary lovers.  P. 139

His casino record in New Jersey is so sleazy and scandalous.  How he gets away with it is amazing.
 P. 177

We can never fully know his character, but we can assess his actions, and with that conclude that Donald John Trump is a despicable and unethical person.  P. 206

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