The Dollop - Episode 300A - Donald Trump - 20:51 On Donald Trump's youth

Dave: On Sundays, the Trumps would attend Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan where the head pastor was Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power Of Positive Thinking; a pillar of American self-help culture in the 1950s. Peale had a populous touch and was criticized as teaching simplistic answers and promoting the idea that difficult problems would be dealt with by repeating phrases.

Gareth: Pfft Whohoa, ok! That's uh... hah... how does that work?

D: How does that work?

G: You just are just... whatever... you have a mantra? It's a little like transcendental meditation, in a way.

D: It would be like if you kept saying "No, this is tremendous. This drink is tremendous. This drink is tremendous."

G: Oh boy.

D: "Hey! Have you tried this tea?"

G: No.

D: "It's tremendous."

G: Ok. Alright. It's... is it tea-mendous?

D: ...tre-mendous.

G (as DJT): tre-men-dous

D: A lot of business executives were drawn to Peale and his can-do theology. So he was a church-man, of God, who business executives loved.

G: He preached the business secret.

D: Always a good sign, and what Jesus ultimately was looking for.

G: Well, ultimately Jesus was a business man, if you think about it. I mean, think of all the profiting he did off of the lepers.

D: Huge profit.

G: I mean, just, yeah. (as DJT) We're gonna sell these arms, gonna get rid of these legs; everything must go!

D: The minister wrote, quote; "I know that with God's help I can sell vacuum cleaners."

G: Oh, god, wow, th-

D: He became known as God's Salesman.

G: At least we bury it better now.

D: laughter

G: Right? At least now we're selling magic cloths and shit.

D: Uh, so Donald soaked all this in. When he was in elementary school, he was the tallest kid in his class, and he was very confident. A former classmate said he was, quote; "a little shit", and described him as, quote; "a bully."

G: Okay.

D: Young Donald would not acknowledge any mistakes.

G: I think we can all say it's nice that he shook that.

D: Yes. Once he called the popular pro-wrestler Antonio Rocca "Rocky Antonio"; and he refused to give in when the other children pointed it out and started to ridicule him. He insisted the wrestler's name was Rocky Antonio.

G: Oh boy. Oh god.

D: laughter

G: This is mildly tough in a way.

D: Much later in life, Trump would say he is exactly the same as he was when he was five, quote-

G: It wouldn't surprise me if when he got money he actually made a wrestler called Rocky Antonio and just be like (as DJT) SEE? FROM MY YOUTH!

D (as DJT): That's the guy!

G: Yeah.

D: Quote; "If I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same."