Donald Trump’s Obsession with Time Magazine Makes Almost Too Much Sense
The now-fading publication evokes a distinct 20th-century kind of wealth and influence—like the Plaza Hotel and Elaine’s on the Upper East Side.
In June, The Washington Post discovered that what looked like a back issue of Time magazine featuring Trump on the cover—and displayed in at least five of Trump’s clubs—was, in fact, doctored. The fake cover featured a serious looking Trump with twin, glowing assessments: “Donald Trump: The ‘Apprentice’ is a television smash!” and “TRUMP IS HITTING ON ALL FRONTS . . . EVEN TV!” The real issue of Time magazine at the time featured the actress Kate Winslet on the cover.
.. Remember Newsweek? It once routinely determined the national conversation.
.. Donald Trump is a man whose concept of wealth is all Manhattan circa 1989. And in Manhattan in 1989, Timemagazine was the king of the newsstand.
.. Trump became a public figure and a celebrity at Time’s apex. But more than that, Time is the perfect manifestation of Trump’s attitude toward success.
.. In the 1980s, when Time was still a cash cow
.. the very public bankruptcy and surprising redemption.
.. Trump’s wealth—and the persona he built around it—has always been aspirational.
.. The superlatives that spill so easily from Trump’s lips—everything’s the biggest, and the best, and the most.
.. The magazine was founded by rich men playing with their fathers’ money—no member of the founding staff was more than three years out of college
.. In the early 1980s, as Trump was rising to fame, Time was absolutely flush with cash: