Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success, by Mi... https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/books/review/never-enough...

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SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW

Never Enough: Donald Trump and

the Pursuit of Success, by Michael
DAntonio
By JAMES B. STEWART SEPT. 10, 2015

As pure entertainment, the race for the Republican presidential

nomination has been a resounding success. Donald Trump, the star, has
been by turns witty, provocative, outrageous and always telegenic. He
helped draw an estimated 24 million viewers to the first televised
Republican debate, a record, and a ratings bonanza for Fox News, with
which he nonetheless publicly feuded. Blithely flouting all conventions
of presidential debate and decorum, Trump indulged in the name-
-calling, personal attacks and one-liners that have vaulted him to the top
of the polls.

Much of the media is treating the contest as just another reality

show, in which any day were going to tune in to watch Trump get voted
off. But in the aptly titled and perfectly timed Never Enough: Donald
Trump and the Pursuit of Success, Michael DAntonio, a former
Newsday reporter and author of over a dozen books, places Trumps life
and career in a context that helps explain why his emergence at the top
of Republican presidential polls was not only plausible but inevitable. In

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the self-absorption and self-promotion he has practiced all his life,

Donald Trump is not a man apart, DAntonio contends. He is, instead,
merely one of us writ large.

Never Enough is an admirably straightforward, evenhanded but

nonetheless damning account of Trumps life, including his failed
marriages and businesses and his emergence as a reality television star
and presidential contender. Trump provided some access before cutting
off DAntonio and his research assistant after they dared to interview
someone on his long list of enemies.

This access nonetheless enables DAntonio to showcase Trumps

tendency to turn any question into a discussion of himself. Asked to
name a book that influenced him, he replies: I would love to read. Ive
had many best sellers, as you know, and The Art of the Deal was one of
the biggest-selling books of all time thats really what started this
whole thing. Soon hes on to The Apprentice the No.1 show on
television but not a book at all.

Out of necessity, DAntonio relies heavily on published sources, which

are voluminous, considering that Trumps every move has been
chronicled by the media and that hes already the subject of a substantial
bibliography, not to mention his 10 autobiographical and self-help
books, from 1987s The Art of the Deal to this years e-book Trump for
President: Why We Need a Leader, Not a Politician. As DAntonio notes,
Trump has been a topic of conversation in America for almost 40 years.
No one in the world of business not Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Warren
Buffett has been as famous as Trump for as long.

I didnt find any major revelations in Never Enough, but

DAntonios book usefully plants Trumps rise, fall and comeback in the
context of broader social, psychological and technological trends the
rise of the Me Generation, the culture of narcissism described by
Christopher Lasch, the Internet and social media and brings the story
forward to Trumps announcement this year that he would seek the

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Republican nomination.

DAntonio points out the obvious, which is that much of what Trump
says can euphemistically be called exaggeration, but he sheds little light
on the source and scope of Trumps fortune, which is his primary
qualification for the presidency. Most of Trumps claims to being a
great deal-maker, a great athlete, a great businessman are hard to
verify, though there seems little more than a kernel of truth to at least
some of them.

This year Forbes pegs Trumps wealth at $4.1 billion, which, while
less than half the $9 billion Trump claims, indeed makes him rich. Much
of that wealth comes from the Trump brand rather than deal-making per
se. His star turn on NBCs The Celebrity Apprentice, his licensing fees,
his books, his speaking engagements, even his mens wear line, have
brought in millions. Hes had good divorce lawyers.

But hes hardly another Henry R. Kravis or Carl C. Icahn. Four of his
heavily indebted casino companies filed for bankruptcy, stiffing his
creditors. Citibank took possession of the ill-fated Trump Shuttle airline.
Trump himself narrowly escaped personal bankruptcy. As David Segal
wrote in The Washington Post: The people who know the least about
business admire him the most, and those who know the most about
business admire him the least.

One thing, however, is undeniable: Trump is a master of

self-promotion, unrivaled even by the likes of the Kardashians.
Whatever the outcome of the current presidential campaign, it has made
him as famous, as instantly recognizable and as talked about as anyone
in America. Trump figured out early on that fortune follows fame, which
is all but indistinguishable from notoriety. Whether or not Trump ends
up in the White House, his golden years surely lie ahead of him. His
agents must be salivating at the prospect of his next Hollywood contract.

Trump first appeared on the front page of The New York Times in
1973, with the headline Major Landlord Accused of Anti-Black Bias in

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City, hardly an auspicious beginning, after the Justice Department

charged the Trump Management Corporation with violating the Fair
Housing Act. (Trump hired Roy Cohn, himself a master of press
coverage who became a close friend and mentor to Trump, to launch a
counterattack.) The case was eventually settled, with a consent decree
but without Trump or anyone having to admit guilt.

Three years later that was a distant memory when he was profiled by
a Times reporter, Judy Klemesrud (tall, lean and blond, she wrote),
riding around in a chauffeured Cadillac limousine with DJT vanity
plates and offering the dubious claims that he was worth more than
$200 million, graduated first in his class at Wharton and was
publicity-shy.

Trump has never since been out of the media spotlight. Publicity
came naturally to him, DAntonio suggests, which doesnt give Trump
enough credit. As Trump told Timothy OBrien, author of the 2005 book
Trump Nation, he had devoted countless hours to keeping his name
in the press. Having supplied many journalists with juicy stories, even
some that reflected poorly on him, Trump had banked favors that he
could redeem.

Trump also seems to have an uncanny sense of the elements of a

good story conflict, money and sex especially when hes the subject.
Even though he made some halfhearted protests (further prolonging
public attention), he surely basked in the comment of his second wife,
Marla Maples, that sex with him was the best shed ever had.

I have always gotten much more publicity than anyone else, Trump
boasts, which, as his exaggerations go, is probably one of the more
accurate. This ability seems rooted in a seemingly inexhaustible need for
attention. DAntonio reports that Trump begins each day with a sheaf of
papers detailing where and how often his name has been mentioned in
the global press. ... This need to be noticed, and his drive to satisfy it,
has made him a singular figure worthy of close inspection.

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It also makes him pretty much a classic case of narcissism, and

DAntonio cites several textbooks in which Trump serves as an example,
including Abnormal Behavior in the 21st Century and Personality
Disorder and Older Adults.

Narcissists typically enjoy conflict and will readily lie or exaggerate

to gain the upper hand. Trumps life can pretty much be summed up as
an unending stream of conflicts, some real, many manufactured, all
good copy. Trump tells DAntonio: I always loved to fight, all types of
fights, including physical. His crude attack on Megyn Kelly, the Fox
News anchor and debate moderator, is just the latest of countless
examples.

No amount of armchair psychoanalysis can fully explain Trumps

outsize personality, but DAntonios account of his formative years
suggests the source of at least some of these traits. His father, Fred, was
demanding, withholding and a workaholic. The father was really tough
on the kid, according to Theodore Dobias, a coach and something of a
father figure to Trump. He was very German.

Trump was a rebellious 13-year-old when his parents sent him to the
New York Military Academy in 1959. Trump was always proud of
himself, Dobias recalls. He believed he was the best. He added that
Trump was a conniver even then. A real pain in the ass. He would do
anything to win.

No one should be surprised that this ambition has propelled Trump

into the ultimate contest, which is the race for the White House, or that
hes in it to win. He has tapped into an angry segment of the population
that admires the Trump brand, which stands for success, a willingness to
fight and a contempt for elites in the media and the political
establishment. As DAntonio puts it, Obscured by hype, the facts of his
life didnt matter as much as the idea of him.

In the age of social media, where everyone is the star of his own
Facebook page, we no longer agree that intense self-regard is a sign that

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something is wrong, DAntonio concludes. On the contrary, its a virtue.

Whether that holds true for a majority, or even a significant

minority, of the electorate remains to be seen. Based on Never
Enough, its hard to imagine anyone who has less in common with
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt,
considered by many scholars our three greatest presidents, than Donald
Trump. Among their other virtues, they are revered for their honesty
(Washington), modesty (Lincoln) and compassion for the poor
(Roosevelt).

NEVER ENOUGH

Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success

By Michael DAntonio

Illustrated. 389 pp. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins Press. $26.99.

James B. Stewart, who writes the Common Sense column for The Times, is
the author of nine books, including Den of Thieves and Tangled Webs.

A version of this review appears in print on September 27, 2015, on Page BR12 of the Sunday Book
Review with the headline: Its All About Trump.

2017 The New York Times Company

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