Donald Trump has had an often contradictory history when it comes to how he deals with the women in his life, dating back to his prep-school days when fellow students dubbed him as a "ladies man" because of his relationships with the opposite sex, an extensive
New York Times investigation reveals.
In some cases, such as when he promoted women to the top reaches of his business empire, he was found to be encouraging and progressive, but among other women, particularly those involved through his ownership of the Miss Universe Pageant, were not as flattering.
And in his political dealings, Trump polls far behind likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton among women, and often slams the former secretary of State for "playing the women's card," while calling her an "enabler" for putting up with husband Bill's marital indiscretions.
To try to pin down women's reactions to Trump, The Times interviewed more than 50 people, both men and women, and the reviews were mixed. Trump disputed many of the claims made against him, telling The Times that "a lot of things get made up over the years. I have always treated women with great respect. And women will tell you that."
Architect Alan Lapidus, who designed the Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City, agreed, telling The Times that "the top people in his company were women, like Barbara Res. For any company to hire a woman as chief of construction was actually startling. I don't know of a single other developer who had a woman in that position. The respect for women was always there. That's why, in spite of the comments he makes now — and God knows why he says these things — when he was building his empire, the backbone was women."
Former companion Rowanne Brewer Lane:
Lane met Trump at a pool party at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida in 1990, when he was 44 years old and divorcing first wife Ivana Trump.
"He suddenly took me by the hand, and he started to show me around the mansion," she told The Times. "He asked me if I had a swimsuit with me. I said no. I hadn't intended to swim. He took me into a room and opened drawers and asked me to put on a swimsuit."
Brewer Lane said she put on a bikini and came out and he said "wow" before showing her off to his guests. She ended up in a whirlwind romance with Trump, but now says their meeting and courtship were "intimidating," as "he was Donald Trump, obviously."
George White, fellow boarding school student:
"Donald was extremely sensitive to whether or not the women he invited to campus were pretty," White, also a member of the class of 1964 at the New York Military Academy, told The Times. "For Donald, it's display."
Girls were prohibited on campus except for during special occasions, and Trump has many different attractive, women visiting him, enough that classmates called him "ladies' man" in the school yearbook in a caption under Trump with one of his attractive companions.
Miss Universe Organization:
Miss Utah Temple Taggart, told The Times that Trump was forward with her and other contestants back in 1977, the first year he became owner of Miss USA.
"He kissed me directly on the lips. I thought, 'Oh my God, gross.' He was married to Marla Maples at the time. I think there were a few other girls that he kissed on the mouth. I was like 'Wow, that's inappropriate.'"
Trump disputed her account, but Taggart said it was not isolated.
Former Miss California Carrie Prejean wrote in her memoir, "Still Standing," that Trump also personally evaluated women during rehearsals in 2009.
"We were told to put on our opening number outfits — they were nearly as revealing as our swimsuits — and line up for him onstage," she wrote.
Trump also denied that, saying such behavior would just hurt feelings and he "wouldn't hurt people."
Yet another woman, Miss Universe Brooke Antoinette Mahealani Lee, recalled the time Trump asked for her opinion of his daughter Ivanka's body.
She was helping host the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant, and Lee said Trump asked her "'don't you think my daughter's hot? She's hot, right?'"
"I was like, 'Really?' That's just weird. She was 16. That's creepy," she told The Times.
Barbara Res, construction executive:
"We had a big meeting once. I grabbed one of the women in the office and sent her in to get lunch orders. Donald said, 'Not her.' She didn't look great...he wanted the people in that room to think that all the women who worked for him were beautiful."
She also recalled how, after she had worked with him for years and had gained weight, Trump told her "you like your candy."
Colleague Louise Sunshine said Trump told her he thought she looked better thin, but she saw it as encouragement, as "he would remind me of how beautiful I was."
But when Res was hired to oversee the construction of Trump Tower, he told her that he wanted her to be his "Donna Trump," and recalls Trump telling her "'I know you're a woman in a man's world. And while men tend to be better than women, a good woman is better than 10 good men.' … He thought he was really complimenting me."
Sunshine, a former campaign fundraiser for Gov. Hugh Carey of New York before working as a Trump executive, came into favor after getting him a vanity license plate with his initials DJT, which he'd used on his limousine for years.
Trump also liked to brag of his sexual prowess, the sources told The Times. For example, after he started dating Marla Maples, who would become his second wife, she told The New York Post about his skills, for a story headlined "Best Sex I've Ever Had."
"He absolutely loved that," Res said. "He waved it around the office. 'Did you see this?' Everyone who worked there were kind of horrified. We all thought it made him look bad. He didn't."
Res and Sunshine both, though, said they were grateful for the opportunities Trump allowed them. Sunshine worked for Trump for 15 years. Res was with the company for 12 years, leaving over a disagreement before returning as a consultant and staying six more years.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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