https://www.newsday.com/opinion/jimmy-breslin-s-columns-on-donald-trump-1.13288319

Jimmy Breslin wrote about New York characters, and one who showed up often in his columns over the years was Donald J. Trump. Here are three of his columns for Newsday – from 1990, 1989 and 1988  — taking note of Trump as a grandmaster of illusion.

Jimmy Breslin: 

“Today, Corum’s Law runs all of Donald Trump’s situation. But instead of horseplayers, the suckers who must get screwed are a combination of news reporters and financial people. It is all quite simple. Donald Trump handles these nitwit reporters with a new and most disgraceful form of bribery, about which I will tell you. He uses the reporters to create a razzle dazzle: there are five stories in the newspapers in the morning papers leading into 11 minutes of television at night. The financial people, who lead such dreary lives, believe what they read and see on television. Trump is larger than life. No, not Trump. Don’t use that name. It’s Donald! He cannot lose. The financial geniuses can’t wait to rush into the glamour and lights. They want to touch Trump’s arm. “Here, I’m from Prudential, the rock of Gibraltar. Take our $ 75 million to build another crap game. Can I ride on your boat?”