13
father assumed] that a little military training might be good for me. I
wasn’t thrilled about the idea but it turned out he was right. . . . I stayed
through my senior year, and along the way I learned a lot about disci-
pline, and about channeling my aggression into achievement.”
9
Donald channeled his competitive personality into winning; he
won contests for the cleanest room, the best-made bed, and the shini-
est shoes. He was awarded numerous medals for neatness and order.
Donald’s grades improved, and he rose in rank from private to corpo-
ral to supply sergeant. In 1963, during his senior year, Donald was
Fred and Mary Trump
Trump’s parents, Fred and Mary, did not spoil their children. Each Trump child was as-
signed a list of chores. They were questioned about their homework, were forbidden to call
each other names, and the girls could not wear lipstick. And as
Washington Post
political
journalists Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher explain, Trump was strongly in uenced by his
parents:
A workaholic, Fred would take Donald with him to construction sites and to his
headquarters, a converted dentist’s of ce near Coney Island, where the boy
would absorb his father’s attention to detail and obsession with cutting costs.
. . . Fred would pick unused nails off the oor and return them to his carpenters.
He saved money on oor cleanser by ordering lab analyses of store-bought prod-
ucts, buying the ingredients, and having them mixed to produce his own.
A fastidious, formal man who wore a jacket and tie even at home, Fred could be
dour and socially awkward. His wife, Mary, relished attention, thrusting herself
to the center of parties and social gatherings. She also loved pomp, sitting for
hours to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. A homemaker, Mary devoted
herself to charitable work. . . . Mary had various medical problems . . . [and] from
his mother, Donald inherited a wariness about catching germs that led to years
as an adult when he avoided shaking hands.
Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher,
Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016, pp. 36–37.
