--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always…" description: "\"“Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always great even when they were casual, were unbearable when he truly turned against you.”\" — Michael Wolff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg" --- # Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always great even when they… ![“Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always great even when they were casual, were unbearable when he truly turned against you.” quote by Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg) > ““Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always great even when they were casual, were unbearable when he truly turned against you.”” [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. The quote warns that a leader’s cruelty can feel tolerable when minor but becomes intolerable when directed personally. **In simple terms:** Minor cruelty seems okay, but personal attacks are unbearable. Key Takeaway Beware of personal betrayals from those in power. Themes power betrayal leadership politics Mood cautious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal relationships - workplace environments Key Concepts authoritarianism psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when a leader’s behavior turns personal? - What safeguards can prevent personal cruelty? A Different Perspective It may overlook systemic issues beyond individual actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruelties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelties/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“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 most savage of human kind are the most advanced”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-most-savage-of-human-kind-are-the-most-advanced/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [This is one of the cruelties of the theatre of life; we all think of ourselves as stars and rarely recognize it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/this-is-one-of-the-cruelties-of-the-theatre-of-life-we-all-think-of/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [ He said that people who loved \[animals\] to excess were capable of the worst cruelties toward human beings. He said that dogs were not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-said-that-people-who-loved-animals-to-excess-were-capable-of-the/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Well used are those cruelties (if it is permitted to speak well of evil) that are carried out in a single stroke, done out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/well-used-are-those-cruelties-if-it-is-permitted-to-speak-well-of/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“Unlooked-for kindness can cut deep as cruelties if they come at the wrong time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndsay-faye/unlooked-for-kindness-can-cut-deep-as-cruelties-if-they-come-at-the/) [Lyndsay Faye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndsay-faye/) > [Sex and writing live on playful cruelties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sex-and-writing-live-on-playful-cruelties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Killing animals to make a fashion statement = a sickening + cold-blooded vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott-2/killing-animals-to-make-a-fashion-statement-a-sickening-cold-blooded/) [Jess C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott-2/) > [“I loathe, detest, hate and abominate the block, the gibbet, the rack, the pillory and the faggots with equal passion," said the old man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/i-loathe-detest-hate-and-abominate-the-block-the-gibbet-the-rack-the/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“We sometimes hear of the cruelties of the Inquisition, of the barbarity of the Irish, of the tyranny of priestcraft; but such cruelties, barbarities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-frances-cusack/we-sometimes-hear-of-the-cruelties-of-the-inquisition-of-the/) Mary Frances Cusack > [Cruelties should be committed all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/cruelties-should-be-committed-all-at-once/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I will try not to overlook the cruelties that victims inflict on one another as they are jammed together in the boxcars of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-will-try-not-to-overlook-the-cruelties-that-victims-inflict-on-one/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Envy: Instead of focusing on your own goals, your goal becomes throwing off the rails other people’s goals and at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/envy-instead-of-focusing-on-your-own-goals-your-goal-becomes-throwing/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [we do know now, all of us, that the most appalling cruelties are committed by apparently virtuous governments in expectation of a great good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/we-do-know-now-all-of-us-that-the-most-appalling-cruelties-are/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## 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 Cruelties quotes > [“Envy: Instead of focusing on your own goals, your goal becomes throwing off the rails other people’s goals and at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/envy-instead-of-focusing-on-your-own-goals-your-goal-becomes-throwing/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [I will try not to overlook the cruelties that victims inflict on one another as they are jammed together in the boxcars of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-will-try-not-to-overlook-the-cruelties-that-victims-inflict-on-one/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Cruelties should be committed all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/cruelties-should-be-committed-all-at-once/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“We sometimes hear of the cruelties of the Inquisition, of the barbarity of the Irish, of the tyranny of priestcraft; but such cruelties, barbarities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-frances-cusack/we-sometimes-hear-of-the-cruelties-of-the-inquisition-of-the/) Mary Frances Cusack > [“I loathe, detest, hate and abominate the block, the gibbet, the rack, the pillory and the faggots with equal passion," said the old man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/i-loathe-detest-hate-and-abominate-the-block-the-gibbet-the-rack-the/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“Killing animals to make a fashion statement = a sickening + cold-blooded vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott-2/killing-animals-to-make-a-fashion-statement-a-sickening-cold-blooded/) [Jess C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott-2/) > [Sex and writing live on playful cruelties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sex-and-writing-live-on-playful-cruelties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Unlooked-for kindness can cut deep as cruelties if they come at the wrong time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndsay-faye/unlooked-for-kindness-can-cut-deep-as-cruelties-if-they-come-at-the/) [Lyndsay Faye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndsay-faye/) > [Well used are those cruelties (if it is permitted to speak well of evil) that are carried out in a single stroke, done out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/well-used-are-those-cruelties-if-it-is-permitted-to-speak-well-of/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [ He said that people who loved \[animals\] to excess were capable of the worst cruelties toward human beings. He said that dogs were not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-said-that-people-who-loved-animals-to-excess-were-capable-of-the/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [This is one of the cruelties of the theatre of life; we all think of ourselves as stars and rarely recognize it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/this-is-one-of-the-cruelties-of-the-theatre-of-life-we-all-think-of/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“The most savage of human kind are the most advanced”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-most-savage-of-human-kind-are-the-most-advanced/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [we do know now, all of us, that the most appalling cruelties are committed by apparently virtuous governments in expectation of a great good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/we-do-know-now-all-of-us-that-the-most-appalling-cruelties-are/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Love and freedom are such hideous words. So many cruelties have been done in their name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-connor/love-and-freedom-are-such-hideous-words-so-many-cruelties-have-been/) [Joseph O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-connor/) > [“The universe runs on the principle that one who can exert the most evil on other creatures runs the show.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-universe-runs-on-the-principle-that-one-who-can-exert-the-most/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) [Browse all 24 Cruelties quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelties/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always great even when they were casual, were unbearable when he truly turned against you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Wolff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-great-even-when-they-were-casual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cruelties" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-great-even-when-they-were-casual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/michael-wolff-423_cruelties_donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-grea_2530812.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Donald Trump, whose cruelties, always great even when they were casual, were unbearable when he truly turned…” — 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, whose cruelties, always great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-great-even-when-they-were-casual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-whose-cruelties-always-great-even-when-they-were-casual/#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 } } ] } ```