Donald Trump’s raring up for the Tuesday Wisconsin primary, and the poll numbers do not look promising for the current GOP frontrunner. Trump’s perpetual flip-flopping on the abortion issue may not fare well in a state that boasts “very” conservative Republicans. Ted Cruz is currently leading with 43% to Trump’s 37%, so some dire repair measures are needed.
When Trump needs a boost, he usually trucks out an associate to sing his praises. This tactic often bears strange fruit in the process. Trump’s butler has already told The New York Times about the candidate’s hair care habits, and now Donald’s first ex-wife, Ivana, has given a rare interview to The New York Post. Ivana reveals how her previous abuse and rape allegations were made up by lawyers during divorce negotiations. She says many more things, including how she spared the country a Trump presidency back in the 1990s when Ronald Reagan (allegedly) urged Donald to run:
“Probably five years before our divorce, Reagan or somebody brought him a letter and said, ‘You should run for president. So he was thinking about it. But then … there was the divorce, there was the scandal, and American women loved me and hated him. So there was no way that he would go into [politics] at that point.”
How did the grand, temporary love story of Donald and Ivana begin? She was in town for a fashion show and popped into an Upper East Side restaurant with pals. Donald did not make a good first impression:
“[There’s] this tall blond guy with blue eyes. He said, ‘I’, Donald Trump and I see you’re looking for a table. I can help you.’ I look at my friends and said, ‘The good news is, we’re going to get a table real fast. The bad news is, this guy is going to be sitting with us.'”
As with many other issues, Donald can’t decide whether he wants to be a feminist. Look at this wavering approach:
“I don’t think he’s feminist,” Ivana says. “He loves women. But not a feminist.” (Ivana’s reps called The Post two days after the interview to clarify that Donald was a feminist. Then they called to say he wasn’t. An hour later, they said he was.)
As an immigrant, Ivana very much favors Donald’s immigration policies:
“I have nothing against Mexicans, but if they [come] here — like this 19-year-old, she’s pregnant, she crossed over a wall that’s this high. She gives the birth in American hospital, which is for free. The child becomes American automatically. She brings the whole family, she doesn’t pay the taxes, she doesn’t have a job, she gets the housing, she gets the food stamps. Who’s paying? You and me.”
Ivana does see the value in legal immigrants, who clean up her messes:
“As long as you come here legally and get a proper job …. we need immigrants. Who’s going to vacuum our living rooms and clean up after us? Americans don’t like to do that.”
As Donald’s adviser, she tells him to “be more calm,” but that hasn’t worked:
“I suggest a few things. We speak before and after the appearances and he asks me what I thought. Donald cannot be calm. He’s very outspoken. He just says it as it is.”
Her experience of being married to the real-estate mogul (and managing his Atlantic City properties) sounds exhausting:
“I’d get up at 6 and read newspapers, and then I went to 63rd Street to the helicopter pad and flew to Atlantic City. I could come back 5 or 6 … Then we’d watch ‘Dallas’ and ‘Dynasty.'”
Oddly, Donald and Ivana still pay allowances to their adult children:
“Sometimes they’d say, ‘But I have this Arab friend who drives a Ferrari! And is in Armani suits and gets $20,000! And I get $1,500 dollars a month!’ And I said, ‘You know what, the money doesn’t fall from the trees.'”
Ivana will never marry again, but she maintains three boyfriends, and she likes them younger for a reason:
“If you are a married woman, you usually follow what the man wants to do. I can do whatever what I want. I prefer to be a baby sitter than a nursemaid. I don’t want to worry about bad knees and bad back.”
Donald has lost a lot of weight on the campaign trail because he’s a germaphobe, so he can’t eat because he’s shaking too many hands:
“He loves to eat. I told him, ‘Donald, you lost weight!’ because I can tell if he’s 225 or 215. And he said, ‘I don’t have time to eat! I shake so many hands!'”
Finally, Ivana insists that there’s absolutely no problem with Donald’s hand size, unlike what Marco Rubio implied:
“If there was a problem there, Donald would not have five kids.”
The full interview forms a strange mix of tabloid talk and cheerleading. All of this comes from Donald’s ex-wife, who presumably aims to boost his appeal not only in Wisconsin but for the upcoming New York primary. Ivana also tells the paper about how Donald grew irritated at her skiing prowess during their early courtship. Apparently, she hid her alternate Olympian status (for the Czechoslovak Olympic Ski Team) during their first romantic trip to Aspen, and Donald has to be the best at everything, so he wasn’t pleased that she skied circles around him. That sounds about right.
(Via New York Post)