Opinion: Just the way he likes it

Let’s say that he is trying to convey the message that “I am the boss”, because he would prefer to be shown as the person in charge. Because all he wants is to be on top.

Businessman, politician, television personality, business leader, real estate billionaire, reality TV star, master hotelier, economist, writer and currently 45th President of United States of America, in office since January 20, 2017. Above all, Donald Trump, is a man of wealth and power that successfully converted his name into a profitable brand.

Donald John Trump was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York and was the fourth of five children of Fred and Mary Trump. His father was a builder and real estate developer, who specialized in constructing and operating middle-income apartments – building and selling housing for American soldiers and their families – in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn after World War II. In summertime, Trump used to working for his father’s company at the construction sites. Few years later, he entered Fordham University and later on was transferred to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1968 with a degree in economics. Highly ambitious and desirous of becoming a man of success, Trump started from his father’s real estate company and  invested successfully in real estate business in the Manhattan market in the 1980s.

Trump as a child

As a child Trump, born and raised in a wealthy family, was highly energetic and disobedient, used to pulling girls’ hair and talking during class. Some of his former classmates described him as a child that just wanted to be first in everything.

Steven Nachtigall, a neighbor kid of Trump, now a 66-year-old doctor, has described Trump as a ‘loudmouth bully’, that once jumped off his bike and punched another boy.

“He was so headstrong and determined. He would sit with his arms folded with this look on his face — I used the word surly — almost daring you to say one thing or another that wouldn’t settle with him”, claimed his former teacher, Ann Trees.

“Even in elementary school, I was a very assertive, aggressive kid. In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye—I punched my  music teacher because I didn’t think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled. I’m not proud of that but it’s clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a very forceful way”, Trump admitted.

Being aware of their son’s aggressive behaviour, his parents packed him, at the age of 13, in the New York Military Academy, an army style military school, 70 miles outside his hometown.

Definitely, Trump represents his own category. Some describe him as eccentric, rude and racist, egoist and arrogant claiming that his focus in life is ‘making money’ – nothing more and nothing less.

Others hold the view that he is a brilliant mind, although he’s the first US president that never held elected office or a top government post, that knows how to make money, a real “American”, who is not beholden to anyone and really cares about America and Americans, an entrepreneur, who has struggled to accomplish the things he owns.

Trump and Media “ An open war”

“The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBC news, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People”, he tweeted last February.’

Trump has a strong opposition towards the media, especially about any publication that involves   unfavourable coverage for himself or his administration, as saying “ They speak badly of me”. As an active Twitter user, Trump claimed in a tweet that “the FAKE MSM”, as he characterized media, are working so hard trying to get him not to use Social Media. As he tweeted, media hate that he can get the honest and unfiltered message out. “I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. It’s fake, phony, fake,” he said in his remarks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

In essence, behind  Trump’s aggressive tweets towards the media there is a smart strategy. Trump by aggressively attacking media organisations, aims to build people’s mistrust towards media and at the same time manages to distract people’s attention from bad news, including real issues as health care and climate change.

Handshake his weapon

It is common ground that Trump’s handshake is the most weird one in the political scene. Trump’s technique includes pulling people’s hand and casually patting them on the arm or back during or after the handshake. In order to get dominance over political leaders he pulls them violently towards him during the handshake. As a result, some of the world leaders struggling to release their hand or losing their balance. What Trump desires more is to be the first person to offer his hand, as he is leading the way, and the last to end a handshake. According to Barbara and Allan Pease, on a handshake, the “upper-hand” simply refers to the person on top whose palm is facing slightly down for the shake. Using the “upper-hand “communicates that you want to take control of the encounter. Frankly speaking, patting again and again a world leader on the top of his hand can be highly patronizing and also rude. Actually up to a point reveals weakness and aggression. What Trump is practicing reveals his desire to be shown as the stronger of the two, but his tactic in every case doesn’t keep pace with the equality that the two persons should have in a handshake.

“He is much more aggressive and physical when shaking a man’s hand, literally jerking them off their feet to demonstrate his desire to be the alpha dominance. With women, he tends to be less sure of himself”, Ms Reiman, body language and communication specialist, said to the Independent.

It seems that, for Trump, the handshake is a gesture of dominance. Let’s say that he is trying to convey the message that “I am the boss”, because he would prefer to be shown as the person in charge. Handshaking in such a manner helps him taking control of world leaders , differentiating himself of the other presidents. Someone would bet that he shakes hands like that because he was in business his whole life. It’s a power-move because he cherishes that he will get attention. Because all he wants is to be on top.