OPINION:
In contrast to his blustering persona, the real Donald Trump behind the scenes treats people with dignity and respect.
Norma Foerderer was Mr. Trump’s top aide for 26 years. When she joined the Trump Organization in 1981, he had only seven other employees.
During her career with him, Foerderer oversaw almost every aspect of the mogul’s business, including public relations, hiring and firing, and negotiating book deals and contracts. No one knew so well both the personal and business side of Mr. Trump.
In the only interview she ever gave, Foerderer, who has since died, told me there are two Donald Trumps: One is the Trump that appears to the public, making often outrageous comments on television to get attention. The other is the real Trump, which only insiders know.
“I mean Donald can be totally outrageous, but outrageous in a wonderful way that gets him coverage,” Foerderer told me. “That persona sells his licensed products and his condominiums. You know Donald’s never been shy, and justifiably so, in talking about how wonderful his buildings or his golf clubs are.”
The private Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is “the dearest, most thoughtful, most loyal, most caring man,” Foerderer said. That caring side inspires loyalty and is one of the secrets to his success.
Confirming Foerderer’s point, Mr. Trump wrote in “The Art of the Deal” that “if you are a little different or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you.”
The president-elect follows his own advice in spades.
For nearly three decades, Anthony P. “Tony” Senecal was Mr. Trump’s personal butler at Mar-a-Lago. When Mr. Senecal’s home air conditioning system gave out, Mr. Trump had it replaced. When Mr. Senecal needed surgery to implant a stent, Mr. Trump called him and asked, “So when do you go under the knife?”
“Tomorrow,” said Mr. Senecal.
“Well, if you don’t make it, don’t worry about it. You’ve had a good life,” Mr. Trump said. And then he said, “Listen, I don’t want you going back to your place. You come and recuperate at Mar-a-Lago.”
Mr. Trump will hand out $100 bills to janitors or McDonald’s cashiers and write checks for tens of thousands of dollars to people he has learned are in distress. But one of the Trump White House media staff’s frustrations was that Mr. Trump did not want the public to see this side of him and know what he is like behind the scenes.
“He’ll walk into a room with a bunch of workers and gather them up and hand them out each a hundred dollar bill,” an aide says. “There’s no camera there. Those are the moments people just don’t see, like when he’s telling us about how an emotional event has impacted him, and he doesn’t want them to see it. He likes to display the tough, rough exterior.”
Mr. Trump often generously praises employees at all levels when they are doing a good job. He makes a point of complimenting them in front of their bosses.
“He keeps a wad of hundred dollar bills in his pants pocket and will distribute them widely to grounds keepers, plumbers, or other low-level employees when he likes the job they are doing,” Mr. Senecal told me.
The softer side of Mr. Trump rarely appears in print because he doesn’t want it to. Whether in real estate or politics, Mr. Trump sees himself as the Lone Ranger, always fighting for what he believes in against the establishment. To Mr. Trump, admitting mistakes or showing an emotional side is a sign of weakness.
In contrast to his sometimes outrageous public comments, one of the secrets to Mr. Trump’s success both in business and in politics is that he listens. For my book on Palm Beach, when he was building his Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, he took my wife Pamela Kessler and me to inspect it.
Mr. Trump drove to the site of a 35-foot waterfall that was being built for $2.5 million. On the ground were samples of rocks for the waterfall ranging in color from white to red.
Mr. Trump asked the construction crew which color they liked. Then he asked his staff, Pam, and me. He seemed genuinely interested in everyone’s opinions, and when most said they preferred the reddish samples, he decided to go with them.
In contrast to President Biden, who let his German shepherd Commander viciously bite his Secret Service agents for almost a year, Mr. Trump treats his Secret Service agents with respect. He solicits their opinions and ensures they partake of the sumptuous buffet every Sunday at his golf course.
Love him or hate him, the real Donald Trump is very different from his portrayal in the media.
• Ronald Kessler, a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game” and “The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents.”
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