A long time ago when its
famous edifice rose just seven storeys and William Jefferson Clinton was a
rookie first-term President of the United States, an uncharacteristically quiet
American checked into The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. As he settled into the
then HK$20,000-a-night Marco Polo suite – around HK$100,000 in today’s money –
the man with a big mouth and bigger hair cut a curiously reserved figure. He
had an empire to save and Hong Kong, as it turned out, was to be his ace in the
hole.
The year was 1993 and the
top-floor suite resident was Donald Trump, the man who has turned US politics
on its head as his opponents in the race to become the Republican Party’s
presidential candidate fall by the wayside and an apparently complacent
political establishment begins to wake up to a phenomenon it singularly failed
to predict.
Back then, Trump was in
financial trouble and was definitely in the market for investors . The chips
were down on his casino empire and a landmark New York development project,
Riverside South, on Manhattan’s West Side was in dire need of a cash injection.
In other words, then, as
now, Trump was news, so I joined the rest of the Hong Kong media pack in the
lobby of the Peninsula hoping for a quote or two from “The Donald”. But he
wasn’t talking and – much the photographers’ annoyance – there was no sign of
his then glamorous girlfriend, Marla Maples.
Until that is, it dawned on
Trump’s personal assistant – whom I had called every hour, on the hour in
search of an audience with the great man – that I was Scottish. “You’re Scotch,
right? she said , then seconds later: “ Donald will see you now.’’
He did, and the rest was
pretty much what you might expect. Overblown talk of a “Trump Tower II” in Hong
Kong and superlatives aplenty. But it was clear the man who talks the talk and
somehow always seems to find a way of buying the walk, was in the city on a
mission.
But the interview and the
circumstances in which it came about revealed a truth – not a word always
immediately associated with “The Donald” – about the man. He runs on instinct.
The geographical accident of my birth was the only reason I was invited to his
Peninsula suite.
“You’re Scottish, right,”
was his opening gambit: “Me too.” And so the interview went on, Scotland the
Brave punctuated with grand plans short on detail and long on bluster.
“I am very keen to develop
here in Hong Kong because it is a special place,” said Trump adding: “I have to
be very careful with the Trump Tower name, it has been very successful and has
to be handled with care .’’ Trump Tower Hong Kong never happened.
Before emigrating to the
United States, Trump’s mother was born and brought up on the Isle of Lewis, a
small austere island off the rugged north west coast of Scotland. It’s a
heritage he obviously clings to and one which has led him into difficulties
over a multi-million dollar golf course development in the country of his
mother’s birth.
The instinct-driven nature
of his politics is almost certainly the reason he has struck such a chord with
a significant number of republican voters tired of what they see as Obama spin
and a system of political dynasties in the shape of the Clinton and Bush
families.
However much as he tried to
hide the fact, it was clear Trump was in Hong Kong in 1993 looking for help and
he found it in the shape of Henry Cheng Kar-chun of the New World group, one of
Hong Kong’s leading developers and the second-generation head of one of Hong
Kong’s wealthiest families and fellow tycoon, Vincent Lo Hong -sui.
When Trump’s Hong Kong
investors sold the bulk of the project more than a decade after his visit to
the city, they made US$1.8 billion, in what was billed as the largest
residential real estate transaction in New York City history.
The relationship has since
been mired in legal arguments but as Trump talks of taking back US jobs from
China and loving how Chinese property investors line his pockets with the
millions he now needs to fund a campaign he says is different because he
isn’t in the pockets of the super-pacs, perhaps he has one eye on the city and
the people who were his ace in the hole.
The quotes of Donald Trump
“You know, it really doesn’t
matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece
of ass.” (told Esquire in 1991)
“Our country is in serious
trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we
don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say,
China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time,”
(June 16, 2015)
“When Mexico sends its
people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending
people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us.
They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I
assume, are good people.” (presidential campaign announcement speech, June 16,
2015)
“The concept of global
warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing
non-competitive.” Trump on Twitter, (November 6, 2012)
“Part of the beauty of me is
that I’m very rich. So if I need US$600 million, I can put US$600 million
myself. That’s a huge advantage. I must tell you, that’s a huge advantage over
the other candidates.” (Trump tells ABC news March 17, 2011)
“I watched the world trade
centre come tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where
thousands and thousands of people were cheering as the building was coming
down,” (November 22, 2015) Trump repeats claims he saw TV reports of Muslims in
New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 terrorist attack.
“I could stand in the middle
of 5th avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters,” (January 23,
2016)
“It is very hard for them to
attack me on looks, because I am so good looking,” (August 7, 2015)
“Look at those hands, are
they small hands? And, [Republican rival Marco Rubio] referred to my hands --
‘if they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no
problem. I guarantee,” (March 3, 2016, Trump defends his manhood)
“An ‘extremely credible
source’ has called my office and told me that Barack Obama’s birth certificate
is a fraud.” (August 7, 2012)
Trump’s declared views on international relations could turn the world on its head. So where does Australia stand?
ReplyDeleteHE has hailed Vladimir Putin as a leader who knows what he’s doing, is fed up with some of America’s closest allies and opposes free trade: Donald Trump could be a President who changes the world order as Australia knows it.
AUSTRALIA IN THE FALLOUT ZONE
These perceived risks all swirl around Australia as much as they do any other nation of the world - the Federal Government is desperate to see the ambitious TPP ratified and as a close ally of the US, any escalation of terror threat would impact at home.
However, while Trump has made it clear he is keen to re-level the playing field with US allies, Australia may be safe on that front.
Professor of Political Science at Duke University and former employee of the Bush Administration Peter Feaver said despite Trump’s brewing war with America’s allies, Australia could be one of Trump’s favourites.
“Australia might be the rare ally he might say something favourable about,” Professor Feaver said.
“Australia has the distinction of being the most reliable ally in terms of fighting war shoulder to shoulder with Americans - I don’t think there’s another country that’s been in as many conflicts on the side of the US as Australia.
“Trump is someone who believes that allies take advantage of the US. If you believe our allies take advantage of us, the ally that is hardest to make that case for is Australia.”
Professor Feaver said the US presence in Darwin was relatively small and would be unlikely to be an immediate priority for Trump, despite his dislike for expensive military posts around the world.
The other Trump policy that could instantly impact Australia is his disdain for free trade. He has flagged slapping a 45 per cent tariff on Chinese imports and rails against the TPP - the ambitious free trade agreement Australia wants to get across the line.
“The TPP is a horrible deal,” Trump has repeated ad nauseam on the campaign trail.
It’s a world view also articulated by democratic frontrunner Hilllary Clinton.
Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo met with Obama’s chief trade negotiator Michael Froman last month, and was assured there was still hope for the deal.
Mr Ciobo has worked hard behind the scenes on the deal, along with new US ambassador Joe Hockey and former Trade Minister Andrew Robb.
It is understood Australia would consider sending a contingent to negotiate directly with members of congress if they were summonsed.
Professor Feaver noted that it’s difficult to know “which Trump” the world would get if he won the presidency, because the ferocity of the nomination process encourages candidates to be their most extreme version of themselves.
“No one knows which president Trump will be President Trump,” Professor Feaver said.
“The optimistic scenario says Trump is part blank slate and part marketing genius - and he doesn’t believe what he’s saying now but he understands he has to say it to get elected. Once he is elected…he will want to write policies that will be successful.”
Professor Feaver posited it was also possible that Trump was so driven by success that if he tried his policies and they failed he would adapt.
The “less optimistic” scenario, said Professor Feaver, was that the temperament of Trump on display so far continues into the administration and is reflected by his staff.
“In that scenario you get a very negative outcome,” he said. “Mr Trump will have many an hour to achieve mischief.”
Only time will tell.