Ronald Kessler reporting from Washington, D.C. — The Republican Party will continue to lose presidential elections if it comes across as mean-spirited and unwelcoming toward people of color, Donald Trump tells Newsmax.
Whether intended or not, comments and policies of Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates during this election were seen by Hispanics and Asians as hostile to them, Trump says.
“Republicans didn’t have anything going for them with respect to Latinos and with respect to Asians,” the billionaire developer says.
“The Democrats didn’t have a policy for dealing with illegal immigrants, but what they did have going for them is they weren’t mean-spirited about it,” Trump says. “They didn’t know what the policy was, but what they were is they were kind.”
Romney’s solution of “self deportation” for illegal aliens made no sense and suggested that Republicans do not care about Hispanics in general, Trump says.
“He had a crazy policy of self deportation which was maniacal,” Trump says. “It sounded as bad as it was, and he lost all of the Latino vote,” Trump notes. “He lost the Asian vote. He lost everybody who is inspired to come into this country.”
The GOP has to develop a comprehensive policy “to take care of this incredible problem that we have with respect to immigration, with respect to people wanting to be wonderful productive citizens of this country,” Trump says.
Looking ahead, Trump says his top-rated NBC show “Celebrity Apprentice” is now shooting its 13th season.
Trump says his Trump National Golf Course on 600 rolling acres along the Potomac River is “by far, the best golf course in the tri-state area.” He bought the historic Old Post Office on prestigious Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington to remake it as a luxury hotel, and it doesn’t stop there.
“I just bought the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and Spa in Jupiter, Fla., which is a phenomenal area,” Trump says.
Regardless of who is president, it will be a good year for Trump. This New Year’s Eve, Donald will be celebrating at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach home and club, which admits Jews and blacks despite the exclusionary policies of some other Palm Beach clubs, as outlined in my book “The Season: Inside Palm Beach and America’s Richest Society.”
Last New Year’s Eve, some 750 guests put on formal wear and sipped Louis Roederer champagne. Hors d’oeuvres included fois gras seared to order, caviar dished lovingly onto blinis, risotto with white truffles, colossal-size cocktail shrimp, and oysters on the half shell.
The band Party on the Moon kept the Mar-a-Lago pavilion rocking as guests donned party hats they found at their tables. Even Trump’s usually reserved wife Melania, a stunning former model, sported a black paper top hat.
Trump says that contrary to his image on “The Apprentice,” he really doesn’t like to fire people. Norma Foerderer, Trump's top aide for 26 years, confirms that and says there are two Donalds: the “outrageous” one portrayed on television and the real one only insiders know.
“I mean, Donald can be totally outrageous, but outrageous in a wonderful way that gets him coverage,” Foerderer says. “That persona sells his licensed products and his condominiums. You know Donald’s never been shy, and justifiably so, in talking about how wonderful his buildings or his golf clubs are.”
The private Donald Trump, on the other hand, is “the dearest, most thoughtful, most loyal, most caring man,” Foerderer says. That caring side inspires loyalty and is one of his secrets to success.
As noted in my story
The Real Donald Trump, when Foerderer began working for Trump as his secretary in 1980, he had been operating his business out of his limousine but had just opened an office across from the site of what became Trump Tower. Foerderer — who became a vice president — found that he had no files. He kept everything in his head. His lawyer kept copies of contracts.
Now Trump is worth $3.1 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
How did he do it?
“By being intelligent and by understanding real estate,” Trump says simply.
Foerderer, who was in charge of almost everything from public relations and hiring and firing administrative personnel to negotiating book deals and advertising contracts, says it’s a bit more complicated than that. To others who want to succeed like Trump, she says they must have a vision and a goal.
“Think about what you want to do, love it, and if you love it enough, you’ll realize your dreams. That’s what Donald's done.”
Pamela Kessler contributed to this article.
Ronald Kessler is chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com. He is the New York Times bestselling author of books on the Secret Service, FBI, and CIA. Read more reports from Ronald Kessler — Click Here Now.
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