Another few minutes pass before I'm escorted into Trump's sprawling
office, where he's buffered by a big wooden desk and backdropped by
a breathtaking view of
Central Park. Dressed in a dark-blue suit,
The Donald, at this moment, is the polar opposite of the
cold-blooded dismissal machine he plays on TV. Manning the
speakerphone and wielding a positive bit of press that has just run
in
The New York Times, he's jocularly fielding
congratulatory calls from friends and doing a bit of business with
Danny Bennett, son of
Tony, who's working on getting his dad a
place in one of Trump's buildings.
"I have not personally shown anyone an apartment in 10 years,"
Trump tells the singer's son. "But I love Tony, and I'm going to
show him an apartment with 13-foot ceilings and great light."
They discuss the unit's particulars, and then Trump reminds Bennett
that he and his dad have a standing invitation to visit Mar-a-Lago,
Trump's private resort in Palm Beach,
Florida, for a weekend of
golf. "There's nothing hotter than Mar-a-Lago,"
Trump insists. "It's even hotter than
The Apprentice."
"I don't think so," Bennett fires back. "That's not possible."
Trump hesitates for a beat, possibly wondering whether or not this
is a compliment. Then he agreeably responds, "Maybe not."
AMERICAN WAY: You've become pretty accustomed to
success. Still, how surprised were you that The Apprentice was such
a hit?
DONALD TRUMP: I never would have anticipated it being number
one in the ratings. I figured it would be a wonderful show that was
well produced. But friends of mine told me that 95 percent of the
shows that go on television fail. And most of them fail
immediately. A lot of people told me not to do The Apprentice
because, statistically, it would fail. Then, instead of failing, it
became the hottest show on television.