Donald J. Trump
Before the towers, the television cameras and the presidency, who helped shape Donald Trump?
From Queens and his father Fred Trump Sr. to New York Military Academy, this film follows the early influences that shaped a public figure.
It examines three very different mentors: Fred Sr. and competitiveness, Norman Vincent Peale and confidence, Roy Cohn and combat. It also considers his brother Fred Jr., Manhattan, branding and the power of simple, repeated language.
In the Hall of the Ancients, Socrates, Cicero, Crassus and Augustus ask questions — not to deliver a verdict, but to look at the evidence behind the familiar image.
Sources
The film draws on publicly available biographical records, accounts of the Trump family and New York Military Academy, material concerning Norman Vincent Peale and Roy Cohn, and Donald Trump’s public career. Dramatized scenes in the Hall are interpretive; the questions are not historical quotations. Detailed image and production credits are to be added.
Companion Study
A concise biographical timeline identifying key stages and turning points.
Open Companion PDF