the other side of the bridge
Donald Trump says the most dangerous place he's ever been is Brooklyn
There is a dangerous world outside the doors of 725 5th Ave, just let Donald Trump tell you. The presumptive Republican nominee made his billions developing real estate in some of the wealthiest enclaves in the world, from Chicago to Mumbai. But during a recent interview with The New York Times, one might begin to wonder if Trump's occasional business trip to Waikiki really helps him understand global politics:
On the TV, Fox had moved on from the election to footage of the smoky aftermath of a bombing in Baghdad. Trump rose from his seat and walked over to the screen for a closer look. "Boy, this ISIS," he murmured.
I asked Trump if he had ever been to Iraq. "Never!" he said, sounding horrified by the thought.
"What's the most dangerous place in the world you've been to?"
He contemplated this for a second. "Brooklyn," he said, laughing. "No," he went on, "there are places in America that are among the most dangerous in the world. You go to places like Oakland. Or Ferguson. The crime numbers are worse. Seriously."
It was a stark reminder of what set Trump apart from every other politician in recent memory who had occupied his current position: how little of the world he had seen beyond the archipelago of boardrooms, golf courses and high-rise hotels he inhabited, how utterances that by now would have torpedoed a more normal campaign continued to roll off his tongue with impunity. [The New York Times]
It turns out Trump is also incredibly superstitious — "twice on other plane trips I had seen him toss a few granules of salt over his left shoulder after eating," the Times reporter also notes. But hey, when the Republican establishment, mayor of London, and a Mexican drug lord are among those out for your blood, can you blame a guy for being safe rather than sorry?
Read the entire profile at The New York Times.