From behind Mar-a-Lago’s walls, Donald Trump’s butler seems to be subtly begging the public to save the country from his boss.
On Tuesday, the New York Times profiled Anthony Senecal, Trump’s longtime butler who remains under Trump’s employ as “the unofficial historian” of his Palm Beach residence, which also serves as a tony country club. On the surface, Senecal seems to revere is boss. But the stories he tells about Trump are hidden daggers. Here are four things his tales reveal:
1.) Trump’s incredibly insecure – and not that strong
According to his former butler, Trump seems to constantly need people to tell him pretty lies in order to boost his self-esteem. As The New York Times reports:
Mr. Trump is abundantly proud of his ability to drive a golf ball, once asking rhetorically during a news conference: “Do I hit it long? Is Trump strong?”
Mr. Senecal suggested that Mr. Trump was perhaps not quite as strong as he imagined, remembering times they would hit balls together from the Mar-a-Lago property into the Intracoastal Waterway.
“Tony, how far is that?” Mr. Trump would ask.
“It’s like 275 yards,” Mr. Senecal would respond, though he said the actual distance was 225 yards.
One suspects that Trump will be most devastated by the fact that his butler revealed he is something of a weakling. But far worse for a man who is vying to be the American president, Trump seems to need his staff to kiss up to him to make him feel good.
Can you imagine how this might translate in the Oval Office?
“Yes Mr. President, your plan to destroy ISIS by taking the oil is working fabulously,” Trump National Security Adviser Ben Carson might tell him, as ISIS marches down the Champs-Élysées. “You’re so strong, sir. ISIS is so scared of your powerful hands.”
“Yes Mr. President, your 45 percent tariff is making America’s economy great again,” Trump domestic policy adviser Chris Christie might feel compelled to inform him, as the U.S. economy falls into an economic depression.
Not being able to handle tough truths is not a particularly good quality in a president. Not being able to handle not-so-tough truths, like the fact you may be a mediocre golfer, is an even worse quality.
2.) Trump may be a pathological liar
Trump’s Palm Beach residence is one of the most spectacular abodes on the planet. The craftsmanship is world class, the old-world decor exquisite. And yet The Donald still feels the compulsion to lie to make it sound even grander than it is. As the New York Times reports:
In the early years, Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka slept in the same children’s suite that Dina Merrill, an actress and a daughter of Mrs. Post, occupied in the 1930s. Mr. Trump liked to tell guests that the nursery rhyme-themed tiles in the room were made by a young Walt Disney.
“You don’t like that, do you?” Mr. Trump would say when he caught Mr. Senecal rolling his eyes. The house historian would protest that it was not true.
“Who cares?” Mr. Trump would respond with a laugh.
You might say, “oh, why let the truth get in a way of a good story?” The problem is, Trump isn’t just telling his little fibs to the locals who pretend to tolerate him in order to enjoy an evening at Mar-a-Lago anymore. He is telling outright lies on a national stage — a lie every 5-minutes, according to a Politico analysis. A Trump presidency is one where the truth no longer matters.
3.) Trump and his family don’t seem to be very curious
The library at Mar-a-Lago reportedly used to be packed with first-edition prints of classic books. Too bad the Trumps don’t appear to be big readers. As the New York Times reports:
He also remembered Donald Trump’s young sons running through the library, paneled with centuries-old British oak and filled with rare first-edition books that no one in the family ever read. When the library became a bar, Mr. Trump put a portrait of himself on a wall, posing in tennis whites.
In other words, Trump is a man who prefers to stare at portraits of himself rather than history’s greatest writing. This, too, is not exactly a great quality in a president.
4.) And worst of all…
According to Senecal, Trump prefers his steak well done. “It would rock on the plate, it was so well done,” the former butler told the Times. Do you really want to entrust the country to a man with so little worldly sophistication? I mean, seriously. Well done?