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Ever cold-shouldered by Trump’s adult children, Melania and Barron were the non-Trump family inside the Trump family.
much of Melania’s time was spent in a house in Maryland where she had installed her parents and established what was effectively a separate life for herself.
Trump saw the world through the filter of other people’s weaknesses. He saw people through their physical and intellectual shortcomings, or through oddities in the way they talked or dressed.
“I don’t need Viagra,” he declared to everyone else’s general mortification at a dinner party in New York during the campaign. “I need a pill to make my erection go down.”
“It’s true you have better hair than I do, but I get more pussy than you do.”)
Even the idea of giving a speech about someone else—praising someone else—was a large pill for him.
McConnell’s contempt for Trump was boundless. He was not just the stupidest president McConnell had ever dealt with, he was the stupidest person McConnell had ever met in politics—and that was saying something. He and his wife, Elaine Chao, the secretary of transportation, regularly mocked and mimicked Trump, a set piece they would perform for friends.
Trump, to say the least, was not a natural political tactician. His organizational sense was limited. He was virtually incapable of acknowledging other people’s purpose and talent. His political instincts were tone-deaf. And he dealt almost exclusively in visceral reactions.
One for the history books—a favorite
“Brilliant,” said Bannon, appreciating the Trump moment. “He achieves total command presence. Here’s a thing he knows nothing about. He can’t be briefed because he can’t understand any of it. So they just give up trying. They tell him that nuclear is worse than all of them and hope he gets it. But he’s got command presence. He looks the part.”
“Hating himself, he of course comes to hate anyone who seems to love him,” analyzed Bannon. “If you seem to respect him, he thinks he’s put something over on you—therefore you’re a fool.”
