January 2, 2016

The NYT has a respectful article about Donald Trump's older brother, who died at the age of 43, after years of overuse of alcohol.

The brother, Freddy, is in the middle here, with Donald at his left:



The NYT quotes Donald Trump saying that Freddy “was caught sort of in the middle as somebody who didn’t really love [the family business], and only because he didn’t really love it, he wasn’t particularly good at it.... My father had great confidence in me, which maybe even put pressure on Fred.” And:
Mr. Trump said that their father “could be unyielding,” and that Freddy had struggled with his abundant criticism and stinginess with praise. “For me, it worked very well,” Mr. Trump said. “For Fred, it wasn’t something that was going to work.”...

“He would have been an amazing peacemaker if he didn’t have the problem, because everybody loved him,” he said. “He’s like the opposite of me.”
Part of that oppositeness is that Donald Trump has never used alcohol.

46 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

BTW, the sister at the right side of the photo is now a federal judge.

Michael K said...

I had two cousins with a similar history. The father was strict and a bit of a jerk. One son could never please him and died of alcoholism in his 40s. The other son has been diabetic for years but is 70 and doing very well.

Carol said...

That's one thing I respect about Trump, is that he didn't seem to go the typical rich-man's kid course of partying and heroin, see William S Burroughs, Kennedy kidz et al.

Rebellion is just so cliché.

MadisonMan said...

Losing an older sibling is a horrible thing to go through. It does give something back though, but I find it hard to articulate. Insight? Wisdom? I'm not sure. You can certainly see where the sibling went wrong and can easily identify what you, the surviving sibling, should have done, and what should have been important.

Curious that Trump's brother's middle name was Christ. No pressure there! (I wonder what the story behind the moniker is).

Unattorney said...

W.C.Fields spoke for many when he said, "Never trust a man who doesn't drink."

traditionalguy said...

Self Awareness is a big positive. That habit probably assists Trump in spotting the weaknesses of each opponent. The closest Trump comes to preaching is his mantra to his kids, "Do not drink, do not smoke, and do not use drugs."

You would think that will help him with the Evangelicals that are not into Theocracy mode, such as the Southern Baptists.

Meanwhile the CNN guys are busy running over and over a total hit piece on Trump as The Silly Idiot of Politics as if it is their Year end Summary of News.

Unknown said...

Yes, she is, Third Circuit now, senior status. The NYT has some good articles recently on her, as well. You can look it up. I'm a fan--one of the first transcripts I ever read as a young lawyer had the judge, Maryanne Trump Barry (then DNJ), saying to a lawyer, "I didn't fall off the turnip wagon yesterday, counselor." I, having fallen off the turnip wagon just a little while ago at the time, had no idea who this wise-cracking lady judge was. But everyone in the courtroom that day certainly did, and probably thought "Touche, sister of the Donald!"

Gabriel said...

use alcohol is a pop-psychology formulation best avoided. An addict might be said to "use" alcohol, but people who don't have alcohol problems and drink are not "using" any more than people "use' when they drink coffee.

Donald Trump does not drink and never has, is a better way to put it.

Jim Sweeney said...

As a lawyer, I think it would have been fair to inquire when she did fall off that truck. Fair, but dangerous to be sure.

Drago said...

traditionalguy: "You would think that will help him with the Evangelicals that are not into Theocracy mode, such as the Southern Baptists."

Wow.

"...Theocracy mode..."

Sounds brutal. How is this mode manifesting itself?

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anthony said...

Would it be fair to being up that crack if you were involved in a personal injury sit involving falling of a truck?

chickelit said...

So, it's a very unflattering description of Donald Trump because it shows how he treats family.

MadisonMan said...

BTW -- Losing a younger sibling is probably horrible too, but as I'm the youngest, it's harder to relate to.

Luke Lea said...

Is this NYT's first step in coming to terms with the possibility that Trump may not only be the Republican nominee but the next president? After all, it happens think of the impossible situation they would be in?

traditionalguy said...

Seriously, Trump has a cautious way disguised under a leader's bombast. The best Generals took care of their Armies who knew it and gave back their loyalty.

Trump is cautious enough to learn from the mistakes of others. And he understands alcoholism. Hence his mantra that Hillary is fine one day, and then no one sees her for five days.

Saint Croix said...

She thinks there is a constitutional right to kill a baby in the middle of birth.

wildswan said...

I picture Donald Trump coming out of a smoke-filled room at the convention the nominee. And the Rinos thundering after him "hey you are breaking your word; you agreed to a payoff if you didn't run." And the Donald: "You agreed to pay off my campaign debts and I agreed that the election would be a walk-over for me."

Michael K said...

"Is this NYT's first step in coming to terms with the possibility that Trump may not only be the Republican nominee but the next president? "

I wouldn't rule that out. After all, he is a New Yorker and they should know him pretty well.

This will be an interesting year as many eat crow of one color or another.

I still feel as though I am living in 1788 Paris.

Paul said...

"use alcohol is a pop-psychology formulation best avoided. An addict might be said to "use" alcohol, but people who don't have alcohol problems and drink are not "using" any more than people "use' when they drink coffee."

Well one big difference is that coffee is a choluretic and thus good for the liver whereas alcohol...

Really you should just admit that you like to the narcotic high you get from drinking.

The fact that Trump doesn't drink is a big plus. It shows he's not weak, is more focused, will have more energy and better overall health than a drinker, even a "moderate" one.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Trump's grandmother's maiden name was 'Christ.' It's a German surname.

Etienne said...

Billy Carter and Freddie Trump walk into a bar. The guy behind them ducks...

D. B. Light said...

Losing a younger brother is indeed horrifying. I know..., I know.

jimbino said...

Funny that we've had so many drinkers, smokers and womanizers among our Presidents, while Hitler was a teetotaler, vegetarian, non-smoker and faithful to his wife until death.

traditionalguy said...

Adolph Schikelgruber was an occultist seducer who used daily drug injections and kept a woman as a prop. His sex life was all in his Speeches.

Saint Croix said...

Seriously, Trump has a cautious way disguised under a leader's bombast. The best Generals took care of their Armies who knew it and gave back their loyalty.

Swearing a loyalty oath to Trump! Awesome beta man. You know your place. Follow the leader.

I am a beta man too, except I swear my loyalty oath to Christ. I love my enemies and try to worship God. I don't bother worshiping Trump, because

a) he's not god

and

b) he doesn't give a shit for me (or you)

This is why Christianity has lasted for 2000 years. Your Trump-love, on the other hand, will be feeble and short-lived.

Dr Weevil said...

We're supposed to be impressed that Hitler was "faithful to his wife until death"? The marriage lasted less than 40 hours, and she'd been his mistress for something like a dozen years before that. What a romantic! Whether she was his only mistress all that time, no one but he would know, and he's not talking.

Dr Weevil said...

I knew a couple of sisters named Christ 40 years ago. They pronounced it with a short I, to rhyme with 'grist' and 'mist'. The one whose first name began with a J (Judie? Julie? Joanne? I don't recall) had to pay extra for an unlisted telephone number, since single women were well advised not to put their whole names in the phone book in those days, and she didn't want to find out what kind of weirdos would call her if she were listed as "Christ, J.". (Note for youngsters: back in the old days, the telephone book was several inches thick, and you were listed in the white pages for free, with your address and telephone number, unless you paid the telephone company not to be listed. You did have a choice as to whether you were listed by full name, last name plus initial(s), "Mr. and Mrs." full name, etc. And answering machines hadn't been invented, or were prohibitively expensive - I don't recall which - so there was no way to screen your phone calls, though you could always unplug the phone at night, in which case no one could call you even in an emergency.)

alan markus said...

Dr Weevil, I grew up in the 50's and phones were hard-wired to the wall - not modular connections like later years. So you really could not unplug them.

William said...

Trump has a fair number of vices, but they're on the surface and visible. We don't know the half of Hillary's vices, but we do know that there's a lot of them and that the backstory of her marriage is likely to be extremely squalid........In a way, the blatant quality of Trump's deficits works for him. We know what we're getting. I'd prefer a duller, more sedate president, but he's not such an immoral person. Look at Berlusconi or Strauss-Kahn for far worse examples of rich, powerful men indulging themselves. And compared to JFK and Bill Clinton he's a choir boy. It would be pleasant to elect a president and discover he's a better person than his reputation, rather than the reverse.

Quaestor said...

Funny that we've had so many drinkers, smokers and womanizers among our Presidents, while Hitler was a teetotaler, vegetarian, non-smoker and faithful to his wife until death.

The oafish inanity of jimbino's comments used to irritate me. Nowadays I chalk it up to typical proglodyte despair as the once inevitable H looks more and more thoroughly evitable. The invocation of Hitler in response to a New York Times article on Trump's family background only confirms my assessment. Res ad triarios venit, as the Romans put it.

traditionalguy said...

Don't fear Trump love. He is not lovable anymore than Andy Jackson, or Billie Sherman or Georgie Patton was lovable. They were followable in a fight.

Writ Small said...

Let's see. If you keep reading down, you get to some interesting bits.

After his older brother died, Trump convinced his dementia-suffering father to cut Freddy's family out of any inheritance. Trump kept quiet about this and even went so far as to offer to pay medical bills for Freddy's cerebral palsy-stricken grandchild. That's very generous of Trump considering his share of the inheritance would be many millions of dollars higher. Then Trump's father died and Freddy's heirs found out the truth of what Trump did to them. They sought legal redress, and Trump welshed on the deal leaving them with a very sick child and the prospect of financial devastation.

But, hey, Trump is going to pull out the long knives for Hillary. He's "our" tough guy, after all. He's uber-masculine and his ex-wives raised pretty good kids, so let's focus on the positives.

traditionalguy said...

@ Drago...The Southern Baptists are the ones who are not in the Theocracy mode. The Ted Cruz Cult is there as we speak.

BN said...

"...overuse of alcohol."

Lol. Like that's a real thing.

BN said...

"I still feel as though I am living in 1788 Paris."

Screw buying bullets. Buy guillotines.

BN said...

"BTW, the sister at the right side of the photo is now a federal judge."

Shakespeare was never my strong point. Do we get to kill the judges before the lawyers, or vice versa?

BN said...

It's too bad the brother died. If he hadn't, I could make a Gracchi brothers reference.

Bay Area Guy said...

Trump has never had alcohol? That's pretty remarkable. I'm a pretty modest drinker, but to never have even a beer at a ball game?

It means one of two things: he is very anti-social or he is incredibly focused on something (making $ from the deal)

I like Trump. Haven't decided on voting for him in the primaries, but I like him.

Anonymous said...

What are the odds he’s done it again? Does the NYT know something? Hired an intern who didn't get the memo? So it's Mr. T v the MSM 12 to 4 in the top of the eighth, the championship game before the world series. He pauses to stretch pointing at the centerfield fence “this one’s for you Palin” for trying to destroy her though her children. “brother of mine you did not die in vain, this will be your legacy.” He hits one over the midfield lights. The crowd goes wild. A merciless businessman doesn’t remain in business. When they are cruel it’s because they have to be. Tough love. If elected that’s what we’re in for. Good news is executives worried about making payroll are about the most responsible, practical and focused people you’ll ever meet. The Dem consultants are hiding under their desks again, “I wish I had studied, I should start looking now before the rest of these turkeys if I want to keep the Bentley.” "I hope Mr. T. is hiring groundskeepers.”

I’d give odds he saved those children from a dissolute end, overdoses and suicides by making them stand on their own feet and earn their own way. And rather than take the easy path he convinced his father who loved too much this was the right thing to do, and he’d see to it just like he’d save the family business.. Many elderly with memory issues are entirely rational are is reluctant to confront problems. Looks like Mr. T. lifted the burden from his dad, mature beyond his years, making the hard decisions of a responsible patriarch, with no help from his brother who thought he could coast through life on the success of his father. Where the proximate cause of his suicide by drink was their company was clearly going out of business and he saw himself as a burden if not a cause. Mr. T knew he would have to use bankrupttcy to have the leverage to fix things, at the cost of his own starting from zero. He had no time or money for an argument about inheritance, and saved many more jobs than he sacrificed. He’s unlikely to be a Rockefeller but the haters got to hate. His nephews will admit that the tough love made them better people, husbands and fathers the MSM won't ask that question because nine of ten times it does. They may even sing his praises. “But for uncle T. we'd be dead by now”, like the children of so many other wealthy and powerful who never launched and always thought they could get by. Sounds like the U.S. doesn't it?

If I were a consultant I'd be cowering in fear of drowning since my I’m the most important attitude is to stand on the shoulders of my compatriots. Good fun. Thank you Mr. T! “I’ll have another bowl of popcorn, with extra butter please, now that we know that a politicized FDA and their addicted to Uncle Sugar grants so-called scientists got it exactly wrong." Butter and saturated fats should be your primary, if not only food. It’s the grains and starches and other forms of sugar that drive the insulin system nuts converting them into saturated fats that are almost indistinguishable from those you could eat directly without harm, but we won't since eating cows saddens mother earth, who loves us so much that given our diet of grains, sugars and starches that are the direct cause of obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart attacks, which cause our early and painful deaths, we won't be a burden for long. Who knew? Way to go suckers. And I’ve not found a scientist staring thru a microscope that can find a difference between the cellulose in celery and a Tree. Who knew we were worshiping the wrong weed? Where's my weed killer?

Unknown said...

Trump has never used alcohol, unlike the daily use by his primary Democrat opponent.

Drago said...

@Tradguy (7:09pm)

Gee, thanks for the voluminous evidence you provided in support of your assertion.

Compelling stuff.

traditionalguy said...

@Drago... Why do I sense from you that there is a compulsion to have your approval of my opinions, and you hold that power of approval. Sounds like a good cult trick to me. Have you monetized it yet?

kjbe said...

"W.C.Fields spoke for many when he said, "Never trust a man who doesn't drink.""

Yeah, all alcoholics say that.

kjbe said...

"The fact that Trump doesn't drink is a big plus. It shows he's not weak, is more focused, will have more energy and better overall health than a drinker, even a "moderate" one."

That's not how it works.

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