--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and…" description: "\"Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and characteristic American figure for more than three decades. Inheriting a small New York real-estate developme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg" --- # Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and characteristic… ![“Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and characteristic American figure for more than three decades. Inheriting a small New York real-estate development company from his father, he parlayed it not so much into a big real-estate company, but himself into a fantasy of a big real-estate developer.” quote by Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg) > “Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and characteristic American figure for more than three decades. Inheriting a small New York real-estate development company from his father, he parlayed it not so much into a big real-estate company, but himself into a fantasy of a big real-estate developer.” [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trump is portrayed as an eccentric, self‑styled figure who turned a modest family business into a personal myth of grandeur. **In simple terms:** Trump turned a small business into a personal myth. Key Takeaway Question his self‑image versus reality. Themes politics leadership ego media American myth Mood critical analytical Type political commentary biography analysis When to use this quote - campaign speeches - business negotiations - media interviews - public perception - leadership analysis Key Concepts self‑mythologizing public persona entrepreneurial myth Questions to Reflect On - How does personal myth affect public trust? - What evidence contradicts his self‑portrait? A Different Perspective His narrative may overlook factual business outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) ## Related quotes > [Engel & Volkers is unlike any other real estate company I have known and I am proud to be part of an organization that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hitt/engel-volkers-is-unlike-any-other-real-estate-company-i-have-known/) [Anthony Hitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hitt/) > [I own a mortgage company and a real estate company funded by the music. Florida is a kinda gold mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/i-own-a-mortgage-company-and-a-real-estate-company-funded-by-the/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [The most distinctive, and perhaps the most impressive, characteristic of American scenery is its wilderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-most-distinctive-and-perhaps-the-most-impressive-characteristic/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Political vitriol is a familiar enough characteristic of American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/political-vitriol-is-a-familiar-enough-characteristic-of-american/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/to-the-european-it-is-a-characteristic-of-the-american-culture-that/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [It would seem evident, therefore, that the secret of the American short story was the treatment of characteristic American life, with absolute knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/it-would-seem-evident-therefore-that-the-secret-of-the-american-short/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [My mother was a secretary that elevated herself to having her own international company, my father elevated himself to an NBA player and perennial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-white/my-mother-was-a-secretary-that-elevated-herself-to-having-her-own/) [Brian J. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-white/) > [I tried to build a company my father would have been proud to work for, that he would have looked back on and said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/i-tried-to-build-a-company-my-father-would-have-been-proud-to-work/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [I was on the verge of taking over a company myself, from my father, before I left Knoxville to become an actor. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cullum/i-was-on-the-verge-of-taking-over-a-company-myself-from-my-father/) [John Cullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cullum/) > [You know, I'm behind my company. My company has been a big part of my life. And it's not that I been buying a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/you-know-i-m-behind-my-company-my-company-has-been-a-big-part-of-my/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [I inherited the company from my father after he died very unexpectedly from a heart attack in 1966. He was just 51 years old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/i-inherited-the-company-from-my-father-after-he-died-very/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [“Donald Trump became a symbol of the media’s own self-loathing: the interest in and promotion of Donald Trump was a morality tale about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-became-a-symbol-of-the-media-s-own-self-loathing-the/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Donald Trump believed he had vastly more power, authority, and control than in fact he had, and he believed his talent for manipulating people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-believed-he-had-vastly-more-power-authority-and-control/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Donald Trump, even more than his father, was perceived as a vulgarian—after all, he put his name on his buildings, quite a déclassé thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-even-more-than-his-father-was-perceived-as-a-vulgarian/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## More by Michael Wolff > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“he could yet make a case for a straight line from Nixon to Trump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/he-could-yet-make-a-case-for-a-straight-line-from-nixon-to-trump/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“it confirmed Bannon’s worst fear: Trump, in his true heart, was a marshmallow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/it-confirmed-bannon-s-worst-fear-trump-in-his-true-heart-was-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“An important aspect of Kaplan’s New York Observer and its self-conscious inside media baseball was that the paper became the prime school for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/an-important-aspect-of-kaplan-s-new-york-observer-and-its-self/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The candidate who billed himself as a billionaire—ten times over—refused even to invest his own money in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-candidate-who-billed-himself-as-a-billionaire-ten-times-over/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [If institutions don't grow, they... well, I don't know what happens to them, because they always grow. I suppose the point is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/if-institutions-don-t-grow-they-well-i-don-t-know-what-happens-to/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Even though Trump liked to portray his business as an empire, it was actually a discrete holding company and boutique enterprise,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/even-though-trump-liked-to-portray-his-business-as-an-empire-it-was/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“the organizational premise of the Trump White House: the family would always prevail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-organizational-premise-of-the-trump-white-house-the-family-would/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump, who referred to the Chinese leader as “Mr. X-i”; the president was told to think of him as a woman and call him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-who-referred-to-the-chinese-leader-as-mr-x-i-the-president-was/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Donald Trump, even more than his father, was perceived as a vulgarian—after all, he put his name on his buildings, quite a déclassé thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-even-more-than-his-father-was-perceived-as-a-vulgarian/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-index-that-appeared-in-the-print-version-of-this-title-does-not/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump liked to say that one of the things that made life worth living was getting your friends’ wives into bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-liked-to-say-that-one-of-the-things-that-made-life-worth-living/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The kids”—Jared and Ivanka—exhibited an increasingly panicked sense that the FBI and DOJ were moving beyond Russian election interference and into family finances. “Ivanka…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-kids-jared-and-ivanka-exhibited-an-increasingly-panicked-sense/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [I am old enough to think the word 'journalist' is not all that noble a designation. Journalist - that record keeper, quote taker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/i-am-old-enough-to-think-the-word-journalist-is-not-all-that-noble-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Politics had seemed to become, even well before the age of Trump, a mortal affair. It was now zero-sum: When one side profited, another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-had-seemed-to-become-even-well-before-the-age-of-trump-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) [Explore all 570 Michael Wolff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and characteristic American figure for more than three decades. Inheriting a small New York real-estate development company from his father, he parlayed it not so much into a big real-estate company, but himself into a fantasy of a big real-estate developer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Wolff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-and-characteristic-american/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-and-characteristic-american/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/michael-wolff-423_american_donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-an_2796061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Donald Trump has been both a peculiar and characteristic American figure for more than three decades…” — Michael Wolff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Wolff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Donald Trump has been both a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-and-characteristic-american/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-has-been-both-a-peculiar-and-characteristic-american/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```