The impotence of being Trump kids

September 7, 2016

Trump-kidsI have to admit that as a fan of The Apprentice, I once marveled in this very pages at Donald Trump’s ability to raise three smart, well-educated young people. While it’s true that the Trump kids were born with a silver–maybe more accurately, a  golden— spoon planted firmly between their lips and had guaranteed positions in Dad’s organization, their earned degrees from Wharton and similar credentials seemed to indicate that they had the ability to achieve on their own, too.  And not a single expose from them about Dad’s craziness.

Yet.

Except for those dead animals the boys like to kill and display. Sickening. And tone deaf. Entitled. But let’s set that aside. Other than that, they have always appeared fairly normal and far more tolerant of Dad’s craziness than I can imagine.

Well, you know, crazy is such a loaded word. It’s probably more accurate to say he’s diabolically clever. He’s managed to touch a deep and toxic part of America, one that once seen can’t be unseen. He’s unleashed the horror. I wish I thought he’d done us a favor.

But then, there are those Trump kids. That’s what this post is about.

Trump-kids

Interesting how many people pay no attention to the facts.

Surely, I wondered, could this bombastic clown be all show and no go, not if he raised three accomplished, well-mannered kids, (plus the two we didn’t know so well)?

Do they really do anything at their Dad’s business? Or are they, too, all show and no go? Like their dad?

Oh, I’ve been around the business world long enough to know that he isn’t the astute businessman he wants the public to think him. Not by a long shot. But then there are these adult kids of his and some of their accomplishments are at odds with all the rest of it.

Then, among people who know, I started hearing that those kids weren’t all that in the business world, either. That they were pretty clueless about business and that their business strategy was that they were the Trump kids. Hmm. Who knows the truth? Only those who actually work with the Trump organization.

So I no long marvel. I wonder in a different way, and I am puzzled.

Trump’s crude insults roll off his tongue and fly out of his mouth almost instinctually. It’s second nature to call names. Surely some of that happened at home. It had to. People are who they are. They can’t hide it all the time.  How were his children raised, really? Besides the golden spoon, was there a dark side they haven’t told us about?

Surely these kids can’t agree with some of what comes out of their father’s mouth. A young mother with three kids–could Ivanka really be so out of touch with compassion for others not so fortunate?  Donald Jr. has something like five kids. How does he square his father’s opinions with being a caring parent, himself?

Are they silent because they know on which side their bread is buttered?

Trump-kids

How prescient.

I was raised in a home where my father ruled with an iron fist and had some of Trump’s unflattering traits. His children learned to keep their mouths shut. Well, except for me. I never did learn that. And have the scars to prove it.

My father didn’t have Trump-like wealth to use as leverage to make sure his kids always towed the line. Is this why the Trump kids are so politic about what they say in response to questions about their father’s positions?

We are seeing Donald Trump at his worst but maybe at his most real. The crude insults. The lack of compassion and understanding. The shoot crude from the hip.  All things that would make a terrible president, and I can’t for a minute think that he didn’t show some of this behavior at home.

Trump-kidsHow about that time he said if Ivanka wasn’t his daughter he’d have a go at her, himself, as she had such a killer body? That’s not only disgusting, it’s taboo.  He can’t stop saying it. And people can’t stop ignoring it. That puzzles and confuses me.

So I wonder: One day, when the Donald has gone to his eternal rest, will those kids finally “tell all”? Will we ever know what drives this man with so many seeming contradictions?

And can he just go away now?

 

18 comments on “The impotence of being Trump kids
  1. Carla says:

    I have had all of the same thoughts. And they are brought back to mind when I’m out and about in my community and I hear a child make a racist or homophobic comment.
    My first thought, because my daughter is still young and these are her peers, is there’s nowhere else they could have picked that up but at home.
    And yet exactly as you say for the most part the Trump progeny have not made the same blowhard mistakes/shouted slurs like their father.

  2. Tammy says:

    I have often thought the very same thing. Further still, I don’t believe for a moment that he had much to do with raising any of his kids. Why the moms have never gotten any recognition is beyond me. You are right: people are who they are. He is abusive in every sense of the word. My only thought is he never spent much time at home. The quote is misleading as it never happened (http://www.snopes.com/1998-trump-people-quote/). But this man has said far more offensive and stupid things that it hardly matters. And, by the way, there is something very UN-NORMAL about taking such pleasure in killing wildlife and collecting pieces of them as trophies. In the higher end of the realm of humanity, this would be cause for removal from the tribe. Heaven help us all if this man sees the Oval Office. I can hardly bare to watch.

  3. Julia says:

    So, remember those kids had a mom raising them too so perhaps that is her influence. I don’t know and hopefully we’ll never know while they go back to their privileged lives. Plus, actions speak louder than words and hunting elephants is not normal.

  4. Sheryl Kraft says:

    Hard to know what’s behind his children’s exterior. I can only hope they are much better people than their father. Please tell me they are.

  5. Kim Tackett says:

    Oh, I have moments when I just want to give up on this election. Where I just want to say, “America, if you want him, have him.” But then I’d have to move. I am also confused…how did we get here? (I know the answer to that). Sigh.

  6. I wonder about these and many other things where this guy is concerned. And yes PLEASE can he go away now? Ugh!
    The truth is that what we see in public is not necessarily indicative of what is beneath the surface. My Grandfather used to say that people grow up the way they do because of or in spite of what they’ve been taught and that is very likely the case here, too. Whatever the truth is (and I can’t honestly decide if I’m fascinated enough to care or not), I ask myself almost daily how in the world did we get to a place where someone like this has managed to make it this far into the process.

  7. Liz Fiore says:

    I have never watched elections with such an interest!
    Look, I don’t trust both candidates.
    Hillary – sketchy.
    Trump – impulsive.
    Who knows, maybe Trump is the lesser of both evils.

  8. Laurie Stone says:

    Gross. Gross. Gross. There’s no other word for this guy. Maybe keeping a low profile and not trying to “outshine the master” is the way these kids have survived.

  9. Michelle R says:

    I think they present a pretty united front and a decent facade, though I suspect the Donald wasn’t anywhere close to the day-to-day grind of parenting. Far too beneath him. My guess — lots of support staff. Nannies. Tutors. Boarding school. How could Donald have time to make lunches or carpool or even discipline (beyond withholding allowance)? He’s too busy being shafting contractors and suing people. THOSE are the lessons that surely stuck as children learn by our actions.His kids probably learned early on how to game the system, shaft the little guy/gal, avoid taxes, throw their weight and name around and generally be entitled. But hey, he says he’s for the little guy! And Veterans! And he can fix it!

  10. It’s a puzzle for sure. And for all the raves about how great the Trump kids turned out, not one person has mentioned their MOTHERS. However they were raised, Donald certainly didn’t do it on his own and he doesn’t strike me as a “hands-on” parent. In fact, when the eldest 3 were young, he was having an affair with Marla Maples. But we only know what the family and the press choose to show us. And for the life of me, I never thought we’d be where we are with the choices we have in this election. I can understand Trump’s appeal to a certain section of the population. What floors me is that he has such a high percentage going his way at the moment.

  11. I believe that quote is not accurate…might want to check snopes.com. And, believe me, I too wish he would just go away. NOW. If there is a God, I hope she makes sure her daughter is elected.

  12. I would say a lot of the credit goes to their mother. She was pretty strict, from what I heard. They also have to protect their legacy, and I’m sure they’re shivering in their boots every time Dad says something stupid.Ivanka, especially is poised and articulate.

  13. Ugh! I have to admit I just kinda scan-read this. I’ve made a personal commitment to myself to not waste my time reading anything about Trump because he deserves not one whit of my time/mind/thoughts. Poor kids. Well, poor RICH kids. 😛

  14. Leanne says:

    Every time I read something new about Donald Trump it makes me glad I live in Australia. It scares me that he might be your next President and “leader of the free world” (which Australia is part of!) I think his children probably have their mothers (and more likely their nannies) to thank for being reasonably sane human beings.

  15. sue says:

    I actually feel sorry for the kids in a way – having to be supportive publicly of their Dad who to me is just bombastic and frankly embarrassing. They must be getting something out of it. As an Australian I’m watching the election campaign which seems never ending and wondering what happened to the US to even have this type of person as a candidate.

  16. estelle says:

    I think it’s complicated. Ivanka seems to really love and care for her dad, yet is aware of his foibles. She is really impressive. I’m not so sure about the others.

  17. pia says:

    I’ve met Ivana and ran into her several times. She was far from impressive, but if I had been married to Donald Trump and/or recently divorced from him…..

    Ivanka impresses me and sometimes I think she raised herself or mimicked her friends. Nobody converts to Orthodox Judaism (no matter how much they love their future husband) unless they’re specifically looking for rules to follow and to be told what to do–not by their husband per se but by all the rules and laws that now govern her life in some ways.

    Her two brothers–not so impressive and their younger half sister and brother are too young to

  18. Frances D says:

    I think Michael Moore has said it best regarding Donald: http://michaelmoore.com/TrumpSabotage/
    That’s a great quote you posted Carol – I would love to have it plastered on
    billboards across the country so Republicans can know what Donald really thinks of them.

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