1. I never watched Apprentice or his career except that ...
2. I knew his favorite book was The Fountainhead. That CAN'T be your favorite book and also you be anything but a rational individualist. No rational individualist can be truly a democrat. (However, if you had a business to run and a self-PR campaign to run, you might act like one.) It follows that Ayn Rand is his favorite thinker. I know many here don't like her. I'm not saying she's perfect, I'm saying she can't be your favorite thinker AND you are a democrat/lefty/collectivist.
3. I'd heard him talk about his brother who died.
4. I'd seen him testify before congress.
5. I'd heard him talk about the period when his businesses failed. He was very humble but not ashamed. Said it was a life lesson - he'd taken his eye off the ball, to much women and socializing.
6. He's a non-traditional Christian, but his character was formed in his church.
7. Everyone who's actually worked with him - they don't necessarily like him, but they respected him and his leadership.
So I don't think he was a 'rino who became conservative' ... I think he was a fake democrat (dino) who started showing his true colors. Trump is very very humble, I know that seems odd to say, but the shallow braggadocio is an act. He's deeply reflective. He probably DID become more conservative after he reflected on what his duty as pres would actually mean.
What I've been surprised by, but not that much, is his effectiveness. He has the teflon of Sun Tzu's moral rightness.
I hate to say it, but ... I really don't ... he's a very good and humble man wearing the constume of a loose cannon.
Where he's not humble is not about himself, but what's possible for a man or mankind on this earth, what man's potential is. He extends that to himself, and that appears as pride. But that's different from refusing to be ashamed, because you know the nature of your creator. His belief in himself is tempered with deep reflection and hard work.
Also, of course, as is any humble man, he knows he's a bozo, and isn't afraid to express that too.
Might be reading a lot into it ... but so far I haven't been wrong. Having certain core things in your life ... there are only a certain number of ways you can turn our. He's pretty locked in.
Also I dated a woman who lived in Trump Tower 8 or 9 years ago and she knew him because she was on the board of trustees. I trusted her judgment implicitly, and she trusted his. People have been pushing him to run for decades. That (knowing her, someone closer to him) may have sealed it for me. She was very very conservative, and we met only because the Fountainhead was already our favorite books, that was the conversation opener between us, and that was long before I knew it was Trump's.
So - not that surprise, but way better than I thought.
(sorry don't have time to edit that)
As a former NCO who was told by the Officer Candidate Board (while serving in a 4-Star General’s office), Sergeant Mac you are a fantastic NCO who will get in trouble as an officer, but Officer’s need good NCO’s to execute the mission without breaking regulations or laws - aka, you have the talent to stand up to your superiors from a position of correctness in making it happen. Trump is that old Non Commissioned Officer from his Military College - Leadership is about as rare as pure logical or not so common common sense.
Ayn Rand's books changed my life to the extent no other writer even came close to. Before reading her books, I was one of those who was shy about tooting my own horn. I would nod my head affirmatively when others said things like "money is the root of all evil" and would never challenge when liberals would run down capitalism.
Ayn's writings taught me that there was no shame in being successful and in fact, I should wear it as a badge of honor. Her book "Virtue of Selfishness" taught me that the truly selfish people are not the go-getters building wealth for themselves but those who idly sit around expecting others to provide for them.
So the fact that Trump is an Ayn Rand fan makes perfect sense.
I listened to how his children talked about him. That sold me....that and his book on policy
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