Republican front-runner Donald Trump is very different in private than his public persona on television that has been seen so far in his presidential campaign, author Ronald Kessler tells
Newsmax TV.
And Trump will transition away from that persona if he wins the nomination, said the author of
"The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents." In fact, Kessler said, Trump already has begun the change.
Trump will present himself as a more "reasonable person, the person who actually built this empire of $10 billion in assets, 22,500 employees," Kessler told "Newsmax Now."
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Kessler said he first met Trump two decades ago when writing the book
"The Season" about Palm Beach.
On the flight to Florida, Trump "imitated the nasal constricted tone of the old guard, the WASP blue bloods, condemning his club because it admits blacks and Jews," he said. "And to this day, some clubs in Palm Beach don't do that."
Trump holds everyone who works for him accountable, encouraging those who do well, he said.
"He'll hand out $100 bills to low-level employees who are doing a good job, he said. "On the other hand, he will just blow up if someone has made a mistake, an honest mistake, but then five minutes later he'll act as if nothing had happened."
Criticism of Trump's business dealings aren't sticking to him because most people have been satisfied, including students of his Trump University, which is currently the subject of a fraud suit.
"When it comes to anybody who's actually been a tenant in his properties or been a member of his clubs, you hear nothing but praise," he said.
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