Where do I Begin?

I’ll just dive right in with my latest personal takeaways from Mary L. Trump’s book. Hmm, where do I even begin? Let’s see…

* Hypocrisy

Dr. Trump wrote about the time her uncle destroyed historical and priceless art deco to shave two weeks of construction time off Trump Tower. I guess preserving historical objects wasn’t that important to him back then. Indigenous cultural and sacred burial sites don’t seem to fall in the “important” category either. Sorry, that last bit was me, not the author. I'm just saying.

* Narcissism

When the author’s grandfather died, her Uncle Donald spoke at his funeral. She wrote that the eulogy was about the speaker and all the great things he’d supposedly accomplished and not about her grandfather. We witness this kind of behavior all the time. Remember those long coronavirus task force briefings?

* Business Acumen

The author talked about her uncle’s business acumen. I’ll admit that I used to think he was as brilliant as he says when it comes to business, but then I did research. Personally, I don’t equate the following to being a brilliant and shrewd businessman?

1. MANY bankruptcies
2. A financial track record so bad that banks won’t give you a bail out loan unless you agree to relinquish control of your businesses.
3. The banks set a loan condition that restricts your access to your businesses’ finances so you can’t do…stuff and instead, give you an allowance on which to live.

* Cheating

That cheating thing reared its head again. The author wrote about a scheme her Uncle Donald set in motion to steal his siblings’ inheritance. When her grandfather’s mental capacity diminished, a codicil to his will was secretly presented that would have given her uncle control of everything. Fortunately, her grandfather had a lucid moment and refused to sign. The siblings found out and took measures to ensure that never happened again.

* Vindictiveness

As we’ve seen repeatedly, the writer’s uncle exacts a very high penalty from those who refuse to toe the line. Dr. Trump wrote about the punishment she and other family members endured for doing just that. The scope of the punishment even included a sick and defenseless child…

I’m still listening…