Former employee recounts frustrating stint at Trump Magazine

In an article for Politico, a former Trump Magazine employee shared memories of her stress-filled time at the publication, complete with bounced paychecks and an absent boss.

Carey Purcell said she took a receptionist job with the magazine in 2006 in order to break into the journalism world. The magazine was the idea of Michael Jacobson, who launched it as Trump World under Lockwood Publications. He went on to form his own publishing company, Premiere Publishing Group, renamed the publication Trump Magazine, and paid Trump $120,000 to $135,000 per issue in licensing fees, Purcell said. Trump signed off on each issue, and about one-third of each magazine revolved around Trump, his business, and his family. Thousands of copies were distributed at Trump's buildings, while the rest went on sale for $5.99 at newsstands. By the end of 2005, the magazine had lost more than $3 million, Forbes reported.

Purcell said one of the hardest things to do was attempt to "train myself to ignore the magazine's sexist content, which proved difficult — especially when the end-of-year 'Trumptastic Gift Guide' featured a picture of a young blonde woman wearing a pink babydoll nightie and holding a Trump teddy bear, her mouth suggestively open." There was no leadership, scant organization, and little communication, Purcell wrote, and employees kept leaving in quick succession, especially once the paychecks began to bounce. Purcell said she wasn't able to get out as quickly as others because she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and was worried about insurance. Ultimately, after finding a new job and putting in her two weeks' notice, Purcell was immediately terminated, and because the company was later declared insolvent, her medical coverage was terminated.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Purcell said throughout her time at the magazine, she never met or spoke with Trump. She doesn't view him as a savvy deal maker, primarily because he "licensed his name to an inept and irresponsible businessman who broke promises, put its staff out on the street, and left a cancer patient without health care." Read the entire scathing account at Politico.