Sometimes the question is asked how famous an actor Ronald Reagan was in his heyday, and the answer is inevitably clouded by the legacy of his presidency. So, for posterity’s sake, and before it’s completely too late to remember, let’s get it down on paper: how famous was Donald Trump before running for president, and what was his public image?
For my own answer, I would say he’s been very famous for about as long as I can remember (30+ years). I re-watched “The Larry Sanders Show” when Gary Shandling died earlier this year, and was not at all surprised to see that Trump was mentioned as a public figure in the early '90s.
He was always known (to my memory) as just a businessman and a quasi-celebrity figure. Although now I’m reminded that he had political ambitions as early as the '80s (Doonesbury is releasing a collection of comic strips on that topic), I just don’t remember that being a major part of his public persona. Nor do I remember that he was regarded as particularly racist, though the idea that he is is now taken for granted by large swathes of the population (and some race-related incidents from his past have been dug up). I don’t even remember that he was seen as particularly conservative. As I remember it, he was just seen as a loud, brash, cheesy, kind of vulgar rich guy who had a knack for keeping himself in the spotlight. He was very “New York.” He was known to date kind of dolled-up, over the top women. Conan O’Brien would do impersonations of him, with a dumb-serious look on his face, and an obvious toupee. He was a “personality,” and everyone knew exactly who he was, though he was not particularly political.
Trump is definitely the most famous person ever to be President as far as being a household name before running. This is a guy who used to be cited by rappers as an example of wealth, had a highly rated TV show, and that was his second act. His first big claim to fame was owning the USFL’s New Jersey Generals and stealing Herschel Walker, a legendary college running back. He tried to lure Don Shula to coach that team but the sticking point was supposedly a penthouse in Trump Tower. Trump’s casino hosted the biggest boxing matches and wrestling events. Trump even occasionally involved himself in WWE storylines. His divorce of Ivana and marriage to Marla Maples was tabloid heaven and Marla Maples was arguably a much more famous wife than Melania(I actually hadn’t even heard of Melania until recently. Marla would have been an awesome first lady). Trump even had a habit of insinuating himself into news stories that had nothing to do with him, such as rumors of buying new sports teams, maybe getting into television(which he eventually did), running for President, something he threatened to do since 2000… If it takes genius to keep yourself in the public eye for 40 years, then he’s a genius.
My first exposure to the Short Fingered Vulgarian was via Spy magazine in the late 80s-early 90s.
I had no idea at first who this complete and total foul-mouthed, immoral, narcissistic idiot they were talking about was. (The magazine was very NYC-centric. They also made fun of Leona Helmsley and such that I didn’t know about but who became nationally notorious later.)
Good grief, was this guy insecure and vain. Truly a despicable worthless human who relied on bullying (esp. via lawyers) to get what he wanted.
It is unimaginable why given his infamous history by the 90s why people would go into business with him (he cheated people all the time), banks would loan him money (which they frequently never got back) and on and on.
He is pretty much the worst person you’d place any trust in at all.
(And he reputedly still sends the Spy writer stuff showing off his not-short fingers. Right.)
It’s hard to remember exactly but he’s always been a joke for as long as he’s been on my radar. I’d always assumed it was all a total put on because who could possibly genuinely be that obnoxious?I’m still not convinced that it’s not partly an act and I hope that now that he’s made it to “the top” he’ll let some of his humanity show.
I’m a former New Yorker, and was very aware of Donald Trump since the '70s. From my earliest awareness of him, I remember thinking “This is the must repulsive human being on the planet.” Everything about him simply rubbed me the wrong way; I couldn’t even stand looking at him. That opinion has never changed.
I especially remember a “mom and pop” grocery store named Trump’s. It was their name, and the store had been around for decades. When Donald Trump found out about it, he sued them, saying he owned the name, and they had no right to use it. Thanks to his team of lawyers, he won.
This is my take as well. That he is considered some sort of TV ‘celebrity/star’ is odd to me too. So he had some reality show that I assume he was himself and treated people badly (never saw it). Hardly makes him a star (at least as far as I’m concerned)
Back when I was living in New York, I always thought of Trump as a bit of local color, like the Naked Cowboy or something. Eccentric, but essentially harmless.
Go back more than two years and my impression of him was basically a huckster; the Billy Mays for the rich and famous crowd. Given his record of marriages maybe with a little Johnny Carson thrown in. I avoid New York and don’t watch much television so I rarely thought of him at all but when I did I rarely took him serious or at face value.
I remember our family had a copy of “The Art of the Deal.” I am pretty sure my mom got it out of the bargain bin at KMart or something. I don’t think any of us managed to read the whole thing. I remember I tried to read it but I was a teenager and I got bored.
I watched several seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice. I had to stop because I could tell that his method of choosing who would stay and who would go was very clearly based on who would continue to be the craziest on screen and thus keep the ratings up. Sane, savvy people were sent packing. It was painful to watch.
I remember watching an episode or two of the non-celeb Apprentice. It was just as bad. Omarosa didn’t win because she was the best at business - she won because she was the best at ratings.
I did get a favorable impression of Ivanka and even Eric & Don via that show. But the boys were very good at un-endearing themselves to me during the election.
As a foreigner to all this, my experiences and memories of him comprise:
Some documentary about him and a golf course in Scotland where he flew past in his plane, then landed and swaggered around.
About 10 minutes of the US version of The Apprentice where he came across as a power-drunken twat, but at the time, I attributed that to the format of the show, more than the character of the figurehead.
Random posts on the SDMB describing his antics and hair.
I’ve been aware of him for decades, but he seemed rather an asshole and since I’m not very interested in Nouveau Riche pretension and Barbie-doll wives, I never paid him much mind. I’ve never seen an episode of The Apprentice, but that’s mostly down to a lack of interest in ‘reality’ contest shows in general.
This exchange from Casablanca pretty much sums up my attitude pre-election:
He was a celebrity, with a lot of cameos, as mentioned. I’ve been going through the early seasons of Law & Or**der (from around 1990-1992), and Trump is referenced in a number of episodes. There’s also that reference from Quantum Leap. He was an easy name to associate with wealth.
I also loved the original Apprentice T.V. show. Wasn’t overly fond of Trump, but I thought the T.V. show was well done and enjoyed it very much. I think I only made it through a season or two of Celebrity Apprentice, which was more about the drama than the issues involved in doing the work.
For context, my current favorite T.V. show is The Profit. I was thinking last night that we should have elected Marcus Lemonis instead of Trump, but of course it’s just an image he projects on T.V. He could be just as scummy as Trump – but for now I’m choosing to like him. (Checking Wikipedia, he apparently did run for a Florida House seat in 1996 as a Democrat, but lost.)
