'American Oligarchs' Reveals How Trump, Kushner Families Learned To Work The System
By News
Published 4 years ago on
January 14, 2020
Share
[aggregation-styles]
NPR
Today President Trump is the face of the Republican Party, but as recently as 2011, Trump donated $5,000 to Democrat Kamala Harris’ campaign to become California’s attorney general. American Oligarchs author Andrea Bernstein says Trump’s donation history is indicative of a practice he learned from his father, Fred Trump.
Fred Trump amassed his real estate fortune in part, Bernstein says, by donating to politicians who would bend rules to his favor — and his son followed suit: “It is a lifelong practice for Fred Trump — and then later for Donald Trump — that they cultivate[d] their connections with the Brooklyn political machine, which at that time was almost exclusively controlled by the Democratic Party.”
“You would see [Donald Trump] continuing the practices that he learned from his father: making enormous political donations, hiring the lawyers and the insurance brokers and other people connected to the political machines, learning how to manipulate law enforcement,” she says.
Bernstein co-hosts the podcast Trump, Inc., which investigates who profits from the Trump administration. Her new book, American Oligarchs, examines how Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have benefited from family connections and the influence of money in politics.
Read More →
NPR
Today President Trump is the face of the Republican Party, but as recently as 2011, Trump donated $5,000 to Democrat Kamala Harris’ campaign to become California’s attorney general. American Oligarchs author Andrea Bernstein says Trump’s donation history is indicative of a practice he learned from his father, Fred Trump.
Fred Trump amassed his real estate fortune in part, Bernstein says, by donating to politicians who would bend rules to his favor — and his son followed suit: “It is a lifelong practice for Fred Trump — and then later for Donald Trump — that they cultivate[d] their connections with the Brooklyn political machine, which at that time was almost exclusively controlled by the Democratic Party.”
“You would see [Donald Trump] continuing the practices that he learned from his father: making enormous political donations, hiring the lawyers and the insurance brokers and other people connected to the political machines, learning how to manipulate law enforcement,” she says.
Bernstein co-hosts the podcast Trump, Inc., which investigates who profits from the Trump administration. Her new book, American Oligarchs, examines how Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have benefited from family connections and the influence of money in politics.
Read More →
By Terry Gross | 8 Jan 2020
RELATED TOPICS:
Will State AG Rob Bonta Jump Into 2026 Race for CA Governor?
Opinion /
41 mins ago
See the Fully Equipped House Homeless People Built on LA Freeway Strip
Housing /
1 hour ago
Juror Dismissed From Trump Hush Money Trial. Prosecutors Seek to Hold Former President in Contempt
Crime /
2 hours ago
Attorney Suing Fresno Grizzlies for $5 Million Is No Stranger to ‘Ladies Night’ Cases
Sports /
2 hours ago
Biden Backs House’s Aid Package for Ukraine, Israel While Speaker Johnson Battles to Retain Position
Politics /
18 hours ago
Biden is Off on Details of His Uncle’s WWII Death as He Calls Trump Unfit to Lead the Military
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday misstated key details about his uncle’s death in World War II as he honored the man’s wa...
Politics /
20 mins ago
Categories
Latest
Videos
Politics /
20 mins ago
Biden is Off on Details of His Uncle’s WWII Death as He Calls Trump Unfit to Lead the Military
World /
31 mins ago
US and UK Issue New Sanctions on Iran in Response to Tehran’s Weekend Attack on Israel
Opinion /
41 mins ago
Will State AG Rob Bonta Jump Into 2026 Race for CA Governor?
Housing /
1 hour ago
See the Fully Equipped House Homeless People Built on LA Freeway Strip
Crime /
2 hours ago
Juror Dismissed From Trump Hush Money Trial. Prosecutors Seek to Hold Former President in Contempt
Cannabis /
6 days ago