--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Few people who knew Trump had illusions…" description: "\"“Few people who knew Trump had illusions about him. That was almost his appeal: he was what he was. Twinkle in his eye, larceny in his soul.”\" — Michae..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/michael-wolff-423_illusions_few-people-who-knew-trump-had-illusions_588964.jpg" --- # Few people who knew Trump had illusions about him. That… ![“Few people who knew Trump had illusions about him. That was almost his appeal: he was what he was. Twinkle in his eye, larceny in his soul.” quote by Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/michael-wolff-423_illusions_few-people-who-knew-trump-had-illusions_588964.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/michael-wolff-423_illusions_few-people-who-knew-trump-had-illusions_588964.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/michael-wolff-423_illusions_few-people-who-knew-trump-had-illusions_588964.jpg) > ““Few people who knew Trump had illusions about him. That was almost his appeal: he was what he was. Twinkle in his eye, larceny in his soul.”” [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’s appeal lay in his unapologetic authenticity, despite moral flaws, attracting both fascination and criticism. **In simple terms:** Trump’s raw authenticity attracted attention despite flaws. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of unapologetic charisma. Themes politics leadership authenticity Mood critical analytical Type political psychological When to use this quote - campaign strategy - media analysis - public perception Key Concepts charismatic authority ethical ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - Why do people gravitate toward flawed leaders? - How does authenticity affect trust? A Different Perspective Charisma can mask unethical behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions/) ## Related quotes > [“The story of Trump was the story of how he tried to make himself a story. He was shameless, campy, and instructive: if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-story-of-trump-was-the-story-of-how-he-tried-to-make-himself-a-2/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [People knew Trump had strange relationships with the Russians even before he was elected. Consequently, there is every reason to investigate whether Donald Trump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-painter/people-knew-trump-had-strange-relationships-with-the-russians-even/) [Richard Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-painter/) > [I knew that Trump was ghastly. I knew I'd vote for Hillary if I had a vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-knew-that-trump-was-ghastly-i-knew-i-d-vote-for-hillary-if-i-had-a/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I knew Trump was gonna be a very bad president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pfeiffer/i-knew-trump-was-gonna-be-a-very-bad-president/) [Daniel Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pfeiffer/) > [Many Republicans knew that Trump's anti-media attacks were damaging, and they cringed when his White House was consumed by his own narcissism. They knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/many-republicans-knew-that-trump-s-anti-media-attacks-were-damaging/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [If I told people that I knew what I was doing, nobody would believe me, so why even try and fake it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mason/if-i-told-people-that-i-knew-what-i-was-doing-nobody-would-believe-me/) [Andrew Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mason/) > [Oh, if people only knew how this business has grown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-white/oh-if-people-only-knew-how-this-business-has-grown/) [Pearl White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-white/) > [“They spoke without much fluency about a minor universe of events that affected neither of them: the vagaries of neighborhood life, people they both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-alarcon/they-spoke-without-much-fluency-about-a-minor-universe-of-events-that/) [Daniel Alarcón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-alarcon/) > [No one can tell you what your life is goin to be, can they? No. It's never like what you expected. Quijada nodded. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/no-one-can-tell-you-what-your-life-is-goin-to-be-can-they-no-it-s/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [We are all the people we knew; all the books we read; all the roads we travelled; all the mistakes we made; all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-are-all-the-people-we-knew-all-the-books-we-read-all-the-roads-we/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [There are certain things that I wish people knew - certain things that I feel I started and certain things that I'm responsible for.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/there-are-certain-things-that-i-wish-people-knew-certain-things-that/) [Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/) > [A town so suffocating and small, you tripped over people you hated every day. People who knew things about you. It's the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/a-town-so-suffocating-and-small-you-tripped-over-people-you-hated/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I had no idea the amount of people who even knew who I was. Suddenly, they were coming up and saying, "You're my favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-wight/i-had-no-idea-the-amount-of-people-who-even-knew-who-i-was-suddenly/) [Eric Wight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-wight/) > [What was funny if you were there is that we were all immensely sophisticated people who knew exactly what she was going to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/what-was-funny-if-you-were-there-is-that-we-were-all-immensely/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [“People always knew more than you gave them credit for. Perhaps, in the end, no one had any secrets at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/people-always-knew-more-than-you-gave-them-credit-for-perhaps-in-the/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) ## 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 Illusions quotes > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/strange-isn-t-it-that-no-chemical-will-give-a-human-being-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“A great magician is not more magical than other magicians; he is just more magical in his presentation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-great-magician-is-not-more-magical-than-other-magicians-he-is-just/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“The more you think about illusions, the more they'll swell up and take on form. And no longer be an illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-more-you-think-about-illusions-the-more-they-ll-swell-up-and-take/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Of course she had some pathetic illusions about herself or she would not be able to go on living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/of-course-she-had-some-pathetic-illusions-about-herself-or-she-would/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [The most important part of our lives-our sensations, emotions, desires, and aspirations-takes place in a universe of illusions which science can attenuate or destroy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-most-important-part-of-our-lives-our-sensations-emotions-desires/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [“we are set free from all the illusions we fostered for so many years of our life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-wencel/we-are-set-free-from-all-the-illusions-we-fostered-for-so-many-years/) [Cornelius Wencel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-wencel/) > [“Expectations are illusions; Pretense they hang on thin threads.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/expectations-are-illusions-pretense-they-hang-on-thin-threads/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [“Subhuti, someone might fill innumerable worlds with the seven treasures and give all away in gifts of alms, but if any good man or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddh-rtha-gautama/subhuti-someone-might-fill-innumerable-worlds-with-the-seven/) [Siddhārtha Gautama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddh-rtha-gautama/) > [“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/the-masses-have-never-thirsted-after-truth-they-turn-aside-from/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [I have no illusions of being an icon to young girls or anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anushka-sharma/i-have-no-illusions-of-being-an-icon-to-young-girls-or-anybody/) [Anushka Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anushka-sharma/) [Browse all 587 Illusions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Few people who knew Trump had illusions about him. That was almost his appeal: he was what he was. 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