Support NeoGAF

[Ether_Snake]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/14/donald-trump-former-employee-interviews-ego-diversity

A couple of quotes.

“His identity is wrapped around being a winner. If you challenge him, or if he’s put into a losing position, now you begin to take Donald out of his comfort zone.”

Some said Trump lacks the temperament to deal with setbacks and becomes instantly impatient with those who do not support or agree with him, while remaining resolutely loyal to those who do. Others described their former boss as a workaholic with few true friends, a man sometimes awkward in company outside the workplace.

“He couldn’t stand to see anything look bad,” Sprague recalled. “He used to call me up at night and say: ‘Did you know that there’s a soda bottle in front of Trump Plaza?’ and I would have to make sure it was picked up right away because he would drive past again to see that it was gone.

And yet Sprague remained in awe of her former boss (despite an acrimonious departure which resulted in her suing the company), recalling the times his obsessive attention to detail uncovered the misalignment of terraces during the construction of Trump Tower, or drove the renovation of Central Park’s ice rink in 1981. “Donald, in the end, did everything … No matter how smart you might be, it was Donald,” she said.

The micromanagement has seemingly continued throughout his life. Justin Goldberg, a former project director who managed the renovation of a property on Wall Street in 1995, recalled how Trump would personally call the painting company to negotiate a deal downwards after it had already been signed, and would point to the smallest details throughout the renovation.

This obsession with detail was accompanied by a relentless work ethic. Most interviewees estimated Trump wakes around 5am, starting his first meetings two hours later, taking sips of caffeinated drinks throughout the day to keep going.

“He somehow requires far less sleep than I do,” said Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime friend and political adviser who spectacularly quit the campaign trail after a public dispute with the candidate in August last year. “Even in the winter time, when he goes to Florida for the weekend, instead of flying back on Monday morning, he flies back on Sunday night so he can be at his desk on Monday morning. And he doesn’t leave on Thursday, he leaves Friday night, after working a full day.”

“Because he doesn’t listen to them, and then they leave. And if anybody is ever credited with doing anything good, he gets rid of them because he hates when anybody else gets credit.”

Pinkett, too, was struck by the groupthink of Trump’s inner circle in 2005. “They tend not just to look like him but also think like him,” he said. “So it kind of reinforces his way of thinking.”

“I don’t think I ever sat in a room with another person of color,” he said.

[...]

Roger Stone argued Trump had “far, far more women in positions of responsibility, and generally speaking the women are paid more than men”. Like many of the dozens of former employees who declined requests for interviews with the Guardian, Stone cited a non-disclosure agreement with Trump when pressed on specifics.

Res, who was Trump’s executive vice-president for construction until 1991, acknowledged that he treated men and women equally in the boardroom. But she added: “I’ve come to the conclusion that he probably liked having women around him because he felt better than them in some way or another. Maybe innately he felt better – they were maybe less of a competition.”

“He loved and respected his father,” said Sprague. “You could be walking on a wire with nothing below you, with him [Donald] holding the other end of the wire. If his father walked into the room, he’d drop it to go say hello.”

“He’s a billionaire without being elite,” said Stone, recalling the 1988 Republican convention in New Orleans, where he claimed that he and Trump had decided against a black tie dinner with George H W Bush and chosen instead to seek out the best burgers in town. “See if you can commandeer a limo, and let’s go there instead,” Trump told Stone.

Full article at the link.

 

[theignoramus]

The most disgusting part was the bit at the end about Trump paying his employees 3 dollars less than the average hourly rate for serving staff in that region.

 

[hawk2025]

“He’s a billionaire without being elite,” said Stone, recalling the 1988 Republican convention in New Orleans, where he claimed that he and Trump had decided against a black tie dinner with George H W Bush and chosen instead to seek out the best burgers in town. “See if you can commandeer a limo, and let’s go there instead,” Trump told Stone.



lol

I'm a billionaire without being elite -- to the limo, Robin!

 

[Ryaaan14]

Hired more women and paid them more cos he's a misogynist. lolwut

 

[valkillmore]

“He’s a billionaire without being elite,” said Stone, recalling the 1988 Republican convention in New Orleans, where he claimed that he and Trump had decided against a black tie dinner with George H W Bush and chosen instead to seek out the best burgers in town. “See if you can commandeer a limo, and let’s go there instead,” Trump told Stone.



lol

I'm a billionaire without being elite -- to the limo, Robin!

But for burgers!

 

[Wiz]

So a Trump cabinet would be full of women most likely

 

[atr0cious]

So a Trump cabinet would be full of women most likely

Where else do you stack your binders?

 

[Tesseract]

good pr for punished trump

 

[Tadaima]

Hired more women and paid them more cos he's a misogynist. lolwut

Yeah, this is a weird thing to use as ammunition against him.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

But for burgers!

Any man that snubs the president for the best burgers in town gets my vote

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

Wow what a work ethic, he comes in to work Monday morning and leaves Friday night. He doesn't work four day weeks!

 

[Dan]

“He loved and respected his father,” said Sprague. “You could be walking on a wire with nothing below you, with him [Donald] holding the other end of the wire. If his father walked into the room, he’d drop it to go say hello.”

What a daddy's boy.

 

[Mrmartel]

There is no doubt Trump is a machine. If I slept as much as he did, patients would be dying left and right during my shift.

 

[Annubis]

What a daddy's boy.

If my dad was that rich, I would also be a daddy's boy.

 

[jmdajr]

No wonder him and Vince McMahon are friends. So very similar in so many ways.

Wow.

 

[Hot Coldman]

that makes it sound like he was/is on a ton of drugs or something, if he's that... er, attentive

 

[EatinOlives]

Wow what a work ethic, he comes in to work Monday morning and leaves Friday night. He doesn't work four day weeks!

Truly a man of the people!

 

[akira28]

he's gonna be the damn president again isn't he

 

[danm999]

“He couldn’t stand to see anything look bad,” Sprague recalled. “He used to call me up at night and say: ‘Did you know that there’s a soda bottle in front of Trump Plaza?’ and I would have to make sure it was picked up right away because he would drive past again to see that it was gone.

Reminds me of an old boss I had...

 

[Dennis]

I expected worse to be honest.

 

[Iron Man Cooking a Crepe]

Not sure whether they were describing Trump or Vince McMahon for a while there.

 

[TheSpecialOne]

Not sure whether they were describing Trump or Vince McMahon for a while there.

lol, aren't they the same?

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Reminds me of an old boss I had...

Go on.

Surprised by the high female hires.

 

[PSqueak]

Hired more women and paid them more cos he's a misogynist. lolwut

Got the impression that the "paid them more" was from having them higher positions than men rather than literally paying them more, that still sounds pretty good tho.

In any case, this is trump, the claim that he surrounded himself with women so he wouldn't feel [his masculinity] threatened frankly doesn't sound too crazy given what he's been doing.

 

[Leona Lewis]

Justin Goldberg was project manager on 40 Wall Street, the art deco New York skyscraper bought by Trump in 1995, and was given a job in the Trump Organization through his father, Jay Goldberg, Trump’s long-serving and trusted attorney. He recalled one awkward moment away from work sometime in the mid-nineties.

When Trump had slept over at the family’s residence in upstate New York, Goldberg’s mother prepared breakfast for him in the morning and mistakenly poured salt instead of sugar all over their guest’s cornflakes. Trump, trying to mind his manners, ate the whole salty, soggy breakfast.

“I thought that was pretty impressive,” said Goldberg.

momma's boy trump

 

[Ryaaan14]

Got the impression that the "paid them more" was from having them higher positions than men rather than literally paying them more, that still sounds pretty good tho.

In any case, this is trump, the claim that he surrounded himself with women so he wouldn't feel [his masculinity] threatened frankly doesn't sound too crazy given what he's been doing.

Women thrive in property management and hospitality. This isn't unique to Trump, you'll find it in condominiums and hotels around the country.

 

[Iron Man Cooking a Crepe]

lol, aren't they the same?

If you read how people describe Vince McMahon and his work ethic and mannerism, they are strikingly similar.

 

[numble]

momma's boy trump

For someone else's momma?

 

[Leona Lewis]

For someone else's momma?

shapeshifter

 

[CrazyDude]

For someone else's momma?

I don't question a man's fetish.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Women thrive in property management and hospitality. This isn't unique to Trump, you'll find it in condominiums and hotels around the country.

Even at the C-level executive ranks? I feel like it's a situation like in higher education where women generally dominate entry and mid-level management positions, but when you look at college presidents and senior administration, the ratio doesn't add up.

 

[ICKE]

It's not exactly a surprise to see many young women in these positions. Attractive women in their early 20s have chances to advance in their careers that men could only dream of.

But when they reach their mid 40s, it is literally game over given what the realities in our society are. Hopefully by that point they have managed to earn enough money to set them for life. At least in Wall Street you should, though the living expenses can be enormous as well.

 

[timetokill]

Hiring more women, promoting them more, and paying them more is misogyny?

Checkmate, feminists.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Hired more women and paid them more cos he's a misogynist. lolwut

Yeah, there's no winning.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Hiring more women, promoting them more, and paying them more is misogyny?

Checkmate, feminists.

It's armchair psychology, but given all we've seen of Trump's insecurity in public during a presidential campaign, I honestly buy that he might keep a bunch of talented women around because he doesn't feel threatened by them just by virtue of them being women.

 

[Slayven]

Hiring more women, promoting them more, and paying them more is misogyny?

Checkmate, feminists.

Gaddafi hired a lot of women too


Just saying

 

[Yoda]

Gaddafi hired a lot of women too


Just saying

I hear Osama took care of a lot of wives too.

 

[FelixOrion]

But for burgers!

A rich person getting some burg in a limo is pretty presidential, y'know

 

[Saint Gregory]

I expected worse to be honest.

So did I, which makes me wonder even more if everything he's doing now is an act. He's clearly shown a lack of respect for people of color in the past though so it's really hard to say either way.

 

[marimorimo]

Huh, sounds a lot like my former boss(es), all of them over-achievers with amazing attention to detail. They stay magically attentive with a critical eye even after dozens of hours over-work, which to them isn't really "work" I guess.

Due to that, I've started to think that to be a brilliant person, one has to be crazy to some degree at first.

The article actually made me gain a degree of respect for Trump (but I'm not American so it doesn't matter).

 

[danm999]

Go on.

Surprised by the high female hires.

He'd try to make us clean the pavement in front of this big retail store with this weird intensity. Like he'd ask multiple people if it was done. We'd usually do it if it was normal waste but he tried to get my co-worker to clean up broken beer bottles and a used syringe once and he flat out refused.

 

[Ether_Snake]

I think it's likely that he would have a lot of women in higher positions to neutralize other guys. A work environment full of men is usually toxic.

Why?

This is the same man that said if he wasn't his daughter's dad, he'd totally fuck her because he's hot.

I'd like to see the age / appearance of all the women hired, and for what positions, and how long they stayed in those positions.

Probably mostly women in their 40s.

He'd try to make us clean the pavement in front of this big retail store with this weird intensity. Like he'd ask multiple people if it was done. We'd usually do it if it was normal waste but he tried to get my co-worker to clean up broken beer bottles and a used syringe once and he flat out refused.

I don't know about your business but if I owned some major hotel for rich people I'd certainly pay someone minimum wage to keep the front entrance squeezy clean all day.

edit: Really, Trump sounds like your typical CEO, except he's running for office and most don't, especially not for president. They are mostly crazy and greedy.

 

[Yoda]

Surprisingly enough I've met a few Trump employees myself (my work is close to his building in Manhattan) and I've heard similar things. For the Guardian this article was not as damning as I expected thou.

 

[Cuburt]

Hating to be a loser, hating to see others receive the credit, surrounding himself with people to who think exactly like him.

I can see Trump's supporters thinking these are good qualities as well, but it definitely sticks out to me as character flaws I don't want to see in the President.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Hating to be a loser, hating to see others receive the credit, surrounding himself with people to who think exactly like him.

I can see Trump's supporters thinking these are good qualities as well, but it definitely sticks out to me as character flaws I don't want to see in the President.

Sounds a lot like George Bush II to me.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Why?

This is the same man that said if he wasn't his daughter's dad, he'd totally fuck her because he's hot.

I'd like to see the age / appearance of all the women hired, and for what positions, and how long they stayed in those positions.

Oh I know he's garbage to women, can't get the story of him forcing himself on Ivanka out of my head since I read it. It's the higher pay part that surprised me more I suppose, or them being in high level positions, though if he only grooms yes people anyway it probably is more of a "harem" thing to him.

 

[Kozak]

Sounds like a Billionaire.

The type of person you don't want being President.

 

[Ryaaan14]

Even at the C-level executive ranks? I feel like it's a situation like in higher education where women generally dominate entry and mid-level management positions, but when you look at college presidents and senior administration, the ratio doesn't add up.

Yes, ESPECIALLY in executive positions.

 

[flintstryker]

Sounds pretty standard, I keep hoping all this would be an act and after winning the primaries he would call a press conference and go in on all his supporters for being stupid. The world couldn't take it though.

 

[Kountry]

Wow what a work ethic, he comes in to work Monday morning and leaves Friday night. He doesn't work four day weeks!

To be fair, you can see a lot of people griping about a 5 day workweek being to much for them these days. God forbid you ask them to put in some overtime or work a saturday, its like you just asked them to kill a puppy.