Are you lost? Try another search below or click one of the latest posts.
From the Archive
The second From the Archive is with Donald Trump (the first was with the late Elizabeth Taylor, click here).
On the eve of the election, I thought this might be of interest. It was November 2000. The interview was conducted in the 58-storey high Trump Tower. It appeared first in The Times, then in The Sydney Morning Herald. Some of Trump’s language and mannerisms (the fluting of his lips) are the ones for which he has been ridiculed as President – everything he did was “great” and he was, of course, the largest and best at everything he did. He was dating but not yet married to Melania. He was surprised that I wanted to focus on his failures (his massive bankruptcy) but once I pointed out how much more interesting that is than success, he played along. I have to confess that I enjoyed the interview. At that point, I had never interviewed someone who was happy to parade his faults. It was exhilarating to talk about the terrible things he’d done, knowing that every word would be printed. If you do read the interview (I hope you do!), you will see how he talks about being a shocking landlord and a vandal of buildings of historical importance. Also interesting was his germ-phobia, his admiration of great journalism and his sympathy for Clinton: “What he should have done is fought for years not to answer [the question, ‘Did you f**k Monica?] I mean, isn’t it amazing and terrible that a guy – a president – is put in that position? He could have gone down as really great and, instead, you know, he’ll be viewed somewhat differently, which is a shame.” (This quote, incidentally, referred to and credited by The Washington Post on the eve of the last election.) It felt as though I was interviewing a character (villain) from a Tom Wolfe novel. But if anyone had told me then “You know, this guy is going to be President of the United States”, I would have thought they were a crackpot. Unfortunately, the very shamelessness which made the interview such fun to do, is what makes the world a more frightening place under the real estate developer’s presidency.
The Donald
If anyone epitomised the “Greed is Good’ Eighties it was Donald Trump, with his towers, casinos and blondes – until the good times crashed, and with them his empire. Now the Eighties are back – and so is The Donald. Ginny Dougary, Interviewer of the Year, meets the King of New York.
Photography by Polly Borland
(more…)