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Thoughts on the Felon in Chief
Dec. 29th, 2025 10:37 amHe's a con man, skilled at fleecing suckers. Not at the level of cleverness of Ponzi or Madoff. But good enough. I've long thought that was one of Trump's only real skills.
The other is ability to draw attention to himself. He has a real extraordinary knack for that. That's his top skill. It took Trump a long time to work out that his talent for puffery and kayfabe could take him further in politics than it ever did in real estate or business.
He never was good at making money, unlike his slumlord father. As those who remember him in the last century know, after he could no longer skate on his fathers millions, he frequently teetered on the edge of bankruptcy and ruin, until finally everyone stopped extending him credit - and the Russians bailed him out.
For someone who spent so much time lying, as an outside observer, he didn't seem to be particularly good at it. His lies often made no sense, and were regularly self-contradictory. But he learned to just spew them out like a fire-hose.
I suppose I need to acknowledge that Trump had a third skill - the ability to pick up on the absolute worst in people, and get them to see him as an ally for their basest instincts.
The other is ability to draw attention to himself. He has a real extraordinary knack for that. That's his top skill. It took Trump a long time to work out that his talent for puffery and kayfabe could take him further in politics than it ever did in real estate or business.
He never was good at making money, unlike his slumlord father. As those who remember him in the last century know, after he could no longer skate on his fathers millions, he frequently teetered on the edge of bankruptcy and ruin, until finally everyone stopped extending him credit - and the Russians bailed him out.
For someone who spent so much time lying, as an outside observer, he didn't seem to be particularly good at it. His lies often made no sense, and were regularly self-contradictory. But he learned to just spew them out like a fire-hose.
I suppose I need to acknowledge that Trump had a third skill - the ability to pick up on the absolute worst in people, and get them to see him as an ally for their basest instincts.
