Daddy Dearest

Donald Trump has a long history of putting family members in leadership and executive management positions regardless of experience, knowledge, or competence. During my time working for Trump, I watched him delegate major responsibility to both his then-wife Ivana and his brother Robert, despite the fact that neither had any background or understanding of the casino industry. 

At one point in Trump’s Atlantic City casino development career, he was actually the dominant player. He owned one of the most profitable casinos in the United States — Trump Plaza — and was developing the largest property in the US, Trump Taj Mahal. He also owned the underperforming Trump Castle, which was a property with huge potential if managed properly. 

All he had to do was hire the right people to develop and manage these three casinos, and he would have been the most successful casino operator of his time. 

What Trump did, however, is turn to family to oversee two of these casinos. He placed Ivanaat Trump Castle despite her having little to no business experience. I believe that Ivana failed miserably due to gross overspending, lack of market knowledge, and poor management skills. While there were differing reports for why Trump fired her ranging from flattening growth to personal issues, I believe he was forced to remove her due to her incompetence. 

I have always believed Donald put Ivana in this position because he has ultimate faith in family. His believes that family will never turn on him, and that family represents ultimate loyalty. As we have learned in the early days of the Trump presidency, he puts a huge premium on loyalty. This is more important to him than expertise. Just ask James Comey and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates. 

Similarly, when Trump was forced to put someone in charge of the struggling development at the Taj Mahal, he tapped his brother Robert. Robert was given the monumental task of finishing the construction and getting the property open after the death of the former developer in a helicopter accident. 

Again, with virtually no experience managing or building a casino, let alone the largest casino development in the world, Robert Trump was, I believe, thrust into a role he was doomed to fail in simply because he was family.
The Taj Mahal debacle ultimately cost Donald Trump everything in Atlantic City. The disastrous opening of the property was the beginning of the end for Trump as a casino operator. And while Robert is not to blame for the collapse in Atlantic City, a more experienced industry executive would have given the property at least a fighting chance for success. 

Both Ivana Trump and Robert Trump are victims of Donald Trump himself. He is solely to blame for their demise in Atlantic City. And as I watched Donald Trump Jr. become the new face of the Russian election scandal, one can only blame the president himself.

That Makes Me Smart