Tag: trump behavior
New Report Dishes Trump’s Bizarre Conduct In His Own Hotel

New Report Dishes Trump’s Bizarre Conduct In His Own Hotel

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Former President Donald Trump was very meticulous when it came to the high standards of service he required of his Trump Hotel staff, according to a new report. From recited greetings to memorized, repetitive orders and very specific service requirements, employees' claims suggest Trump wanted nearly the same dining experience each and every time he dined at Table 72 at the center of the Trump Hotel's mezzanine.

Now, many of them are shedding light on the scrupulous staff handbook and some of their bizarre encounters with him and other right-wing elites

A detailed piece published by The Washingtonianoffers detailed accounts of hotel employees' interactions with the former president. The employees and former employees, some of whom have opted for anonymity, laid out Trump's mundane meal requests which began with recited instructions similar to a skit in a play.

The publication writes, "As soon as Trump was seated, the server had to 'discreetly present' a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (This applied long before Covid, mind you.) Next, cue dialogue: "Good (time of day) Mr. President. Would you like your Diet Coke with or without ice?" the server was instructed to recite."

An employee also revealed that there were even instructions for pouring drinks. "Directions for pouring the soda were detailed in a process no fewer than seven steps long—and illustrated with four photo exhibits," the publication wrote. "The beverage had to be opened in front of the germophobe commander in chief, "never beforehand."

It added, "The server was to hold a longneck-bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and the Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other. Once poured, the drink had to be placed at the President's right-hand side. 'Repeat until POTUS departs.'"

As for his meal, Trump reportedly orders the same entrees and dishes each time. However, there is one bizarre request that must be adhered to.

Trump always had the same thing: shrimp cocktail, well-done steak, and fries (plus sometimes apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert). Popovers—make it a double for the President—had to be served within two minutes and the crustaceans "immediately." The manual instructed the server to open mini glass bottles of Heinz ketchup in front of Trump, taking care to ensure he could hear the seal make the "pop" sound.

Former executive chef Bill Williamson shared details about his experience working for the hotel and the former president. He noted that the president always requested a "bone-in rib eye or filet mignon" and very little ever changed about his request. "It was the same steak. Both well done. Maybe it was a half-ounce bigger or something, I don't know."Although Trump's requests were out of the ordinary, one of the hotel employees admitted that the former president's personal attorney Rudy Guiliani was "the biggest pain in my butt." The former general manager of the hotel recounted his experiences with the disgraced attorney."The biggest pain in my butt was Giuliani," the former general manager said. "He was constantly in the restaurant. And I complained about it. The guy would come in, expect a table for ten at a moment's notice at, like, 2 pm, when we're not fully functioning. We don't have the staff. But he's the President's lawyer, and what am I supposed to do?"

However, for some, there were perks. Former bartender Michel Rivera revealed he averaged more than $100,000 annually with tips. "People would literally come up to me and give me $100 bills and be like, 'You must be the best bartender in the world if you work here!' " Rivera said. "A group of three or four guys would come up, have a round of drinks—I could easily sell them over $1,000. You don't see that at too many bars."

Trump may no longer be in the White House but his desire for opulence will likely last forever.

Former Officials Increasingly Worried By President’s ‘Erratic Behavior’

Former Officials Increasingly Worried By President’s ‘Erratic Behavior’

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

President Donald Trump became the butt of jokes all over the world this week when he offered to purchase Greenland and angrily canceled a visit to Denmark after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the proposal as “absurd.” The headlines, Maggie Haberman and Peter Baker note in a report for the New York Times, sounded like something The Onion would make up — only it really happened. But Haberman and Baker stress that to former Trump Administration officials, the president’s erratic behavior is no laughing matter. And those who have worked with the president, according to Haberman and Baker, are growing increasingly worried about his actions — especially with the 2020 election only 15 months away and the U.S. economy possibly going into a recession.

“Some former Trump Administration officials in recent days said they were increasingly worried about the president’s behavior, suggesting it stems from rising pressure on Mr. Trump as the economy seems more worrisome and next year’s election approaches,” Haberman and Baker report. And the current makeup of the Trump Administration, they go on to say, only makes matters worse: at this point, according to the Times reporters, Trump has too many sycophants and not nearly enough constructive criticism.

“After casting off advisers who displeased him at a record rate in his first two and a half years in office,” Haberman and Baker explain, “Mr. Trump now has fewer aides around him willing or able to challenge him — much less restrain his more impulsive instincts.”

The Greenland/Denmark debacle, according to Haberman and Baker, is only one recent example of the type of bizarre and outrageous things that have former Trump Administration officials worried. Recently, Trump has accused American Jews who vote for Democrats of showing “great disloyalty” to Israel — and Trump said that Jews in Israel adore him as though he were the “King of Israel” or “the second coming of God.” Discussing the trade war with China, Trump declared, “I am the chosen one” as if to tell his evangelical supporters that God Himself picked him specifically to lead a trade war.

Last week at a rally, Haberman and Baker recall, Trump mocked a man he thought was a protestor for being overweight. But the man he was mocking was actually a Trump supporter, not a protestor.

One of the problems with Trump sycophants in the GOP, according to Haberman and Baker, is their tendency to encourage his absurdities. One such GOP sycophant is Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, who said of Trump’s ridiculous offer to buy Greenland, “The United States has a compelling strategic interest in Greenland, and this should absolutely be on the table.”

The more Trump says and does outlandish things, according to Haberman and Baker, the more worried GOP insiders become about the possible effect on the 2020 election.

“With a growing schedule of campaign rallies,” the Times reporters write, “he will be talking in public even more in the coming months — each time a chance to say something provocative that may distract from the messages his staff would prefer to emphasize.”

Is Trump’s Curious Behavior Caused By Sleeping Drug Ambien?

Is Trump’s Curious Behavior Caused By Sleeping Drug Ambien?

Reprinted with permission from DCReport.

Does Trump have a drug problem?

An overlooked footnote to Trump’s highly publicized health checkup earlier this month was a passing reference at a news conerence to his use of the widely abused sleep aid, Ambien.

Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, then said Trump takes Ambien when he goes on long flights. The drug, approved by the Food and Drug administration in 1992, was meant for short-term use to treat insomnia.

“The President does take some Ambien on occasion” when he travels overseas, Jackson said. “Only during travel.”

Since sleeping pills come with a range of dangerous side effects that can linger into the following day, experts suggest using them sporadically and only in specific instances to avoid health risks. The drug is known to sometimes turn people into “Ambien zombies” who have fixed meals, had sex or gotten in their cars and driven away with no memory of the activities the next day.

Attorney Susan Chana Lask, who has represented people in lawsuits against the manufacturer of Ambien, said the drug could explain some of Trump’s long history of erratic behavior, tweets, and slurred speech.

“Ambien may be the reason he has at times been unable to recall names and events, and had to later correct himself,” Lask said.

Trump slurred his words toward the end of a speech in December announcing that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Three weeks before that incident, Trump had spent a busy 10 days traveling in Asia. He also flew to Florida, Missouri, New York and Utah in the days prior to the speech. A spokesman later said Trump had a dry throat.

He appeared to forget the words to the national anthem in January at the college national football championship in Atlanta.

Daniel Kripke, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at University of California San Diego, said he couldn’t speak about Trump’s taking Ambien but that in general a person who habitually wakes up after less than eight hours of sleep or who wakes up in the middle of the night would have increased risk of impaired alertness, confusion and impairments of memory and judgment.

Jackson said Trump typically gets 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night. He usually is up by 5 a.m. and has tweeted at 3 a.m.

Conservative commentator Michael Levy has speculated that Trump’s insomnia could be the result of a dangerous mixing of Ambien with an amphetamine.

“Amphetamines cause lack of impulse control, irritability, inability to control temper, and unbalanced hyper-focus on certain subjects which borders on obsession,” Levy opined on the social media network Quora. “A person on amphetamines can exhibit exactly the type of bizarre behavior we see in Trump.”

Former President Barack Obama took an undisclosed medication to help with jet lag while traveling.

Ambien is manufactured by Sanofi Aventis. The generic versions of zolpidem were released in 2007. In 2014, Kerry Kennedy, who said she mistakenly took Ambien, was acquitted of drugged-driving in Westchester County in New York. Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, had swerved her Lexus SUV into a tractor-trailer. Lask questioned why Trump is taking Ambien.

“There are safer and healthier alternatives to Ambien, such as exercise, meditation, yoga and melatonin that the leader of our country should be promoting,” she said. “Quick big pharma fixes like Ambien are exactly the reason we have so many confused people and problems in this country.”

“The Ambien actually helps matters,” said Levy. “When Trump isn’t sleeping, he really goes off the rails… You can actually see it coming. Just look at the bags under his eyes. When they get really puffy, boom! Trumpocalypse!”