The Making of Trump

This timely History Channel documentary profile takes a long view of the life of unlikely, freight-train 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump, a brash, unsubtle, billionaire real-estate developer, author, and jet-set celebrity. Nostalgic footage finds young Trump already a mediagenic entrepreneur on 1970s NYC cable, a man who was fired up by childhood sermons from his famous pastor—“positive thinking” self-help guru Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Son of an established (and far more low-key) developer, Trump took a chance rehabbing the rundown Manhattan of the 1970s. Earning a reputation (despite feuds with Mayor Koch) as a breakout business leader who could Get Things Done, Trump nonetheless lost fortunes with failed marriages and bankrupt ventures in Atlantic City casinos and the USFL sports franchise. But, seemingly bereft of humility or the capacity for regret, he capitalized on his own brand-name fame to enter TV and politics. First, he cast his lot with Ross Perot's ill-fated Reform Party, then turned the GOP upside down. Trump supporters may be reassured that the candidate idolizes conservative figurehead Ronald Reagan, while those horrified by Trump's demagoguery will not feel comforted by the analyses of interviewees (including columnist Linda Stasi, magazine editors Kurt Andersen and Gabriel Sherman, TV's Robin Leach, and Trump biographers Timothy L. O'Brien and Michael D'Antonio) that Trump's lifelong drive is about winning, and being elected president would be just another game to him. Sure to be popular, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)