Who We Are

I think we would all agree that all of us are a product of our upbringing and our family circumstances. Many adults who reflect on their lives can always point to events in their childhoods that shaped their view of the world. Those events might be as simple as the death of a pet at a vulnerable age to the complex relationships they had with their parents and siblings. These events and relationships certainly do not define us in total but have lasting effects on our outlook and our being.

I don’t know how many of you saw the Frontline special this past Tuesday night on PBS but if you missed it, I would highly recommend you make a point to watch it before this year’s election.  It is a compare and contrast look at both candidates for President. I believe it to be a fairly accurate portrayal of the candidates and tries not to take sides.

Watching that program led me to do further research into the candidates and their essence. If the Frontline piece is accurate and indeed it does conform to other accounts I have read, Donald Trump’s father was a driven man. I suppose he would have to be in the real estate development business in New York in the 1950’s and 60’s. He provided a

comfortable life for his family and like many post war fathers was not overtly demonstrative with his children. Fred Trump taught his children that there were only two kinds of people in this world, winners and losers and if you weren’t a winner, you were a loser. I believe young Donald took that lesson to heart.

Once Donald Trump had graduated from college, he set his sights on breaking into the Manhattan real estate market and became associated with the notorious New York attorney Roy Cohen. Roy Cohen made his name in the 1950’s as a prosecutor on the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage and later as Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel during his HUAC investigations.

As a young man, Trump became close with Cohen and learned a very important lesson from his storied attorney. Cohen taught Trump that you never admit to failure and no matter the outcome, always claim victory.

Why is all this important, you may ask. It is important because we saw those very attributes on display on Monday night during the Presidential debate. When Trump was questioned about the birther controversy as he has been several times, he stuck to the same story. Trump is clearly in the wrong on this issue but continues to claim victory by shaming President Obama into releasing his birth certificate and continuing to question its validity for the next five years.  Never admit a mistake and always claim victory. In the days since the debates, the Trump campaign has insisted their candidate won the debate despite every scientific poll and objective account of the debate. Trump clearly did not fare well and obviously lost but never admit a mistake and always claim victory.

I don’t know about you but I suspect most rational people look back at their lives and are not afraid or ashamed to admit their mistakes and point out things they would do differently throughout the course of their lives and I am greatly concerned about someone who won’t. If Trump never admits defeat and always claims victory, The morning of November 9th ought to be interesting.