I sure didn’t see this designation coming! Trump is not prone to ethical outbursts. Maybe it’s even deserving of an Ethics Hero nod, under the circumstances. Here’s the quote:
“She seems to have an ability to survive, because you know she was out of the race, and all of the sudden she’s running for president. That’s a great ability that some people have and some people don’t have. She seems to have some pretty longtime friendships. And I call that a good thing. And she seems to have a nice way about her.”
—Donald Trump, upon being asked by a young woman at the Univision town hall, “What are the three virtues that you see in Vice President Kamala Harris?”
The Trump-Deranged among you will say, I’m sure, that this was not a sincere response, but a calculated one desigend to win over voters. You will say that because you are literally incapable of believing anything good about the man.
But I see that as a genuine expression of admiration from someone who knows what the job of political leaders requires, and who admires perseverance under adversity and stress, because he has experienced those things first hand. He realizes that having genuine long-time friendships in politics is rare and a sign of good character.
I don’t know where he gets the idea that Harris has a “nice way about her,” but its his assessment, not mine.
Trump answered that way, moreover, as Harris and her party are increasingly making the demonizing and the denigrating of Donald Trump personally as their main, last ditch pitch for voting Democrat in the election.
I honestly didn’t think he had it in him to say something like this. Tit-for-tat is part of Trump’s operating philosophy. If you say something bad about him or cross him, you’re terrible. If you help him out or do what he wants, you’re a great person and friend.
There may be a bit more depth to Trump’s character and world view than I have perceived over the years.
Ethics Alarms 
Had he only displayed this earlier on.
PWS
My thought exactly.
I think he genuinely cares about the well-being of the country. Clearly, unlike professional pols, he’s not in it for the money. And saying he’s doing it because he’s a monomaniac is simply inaccurate and not supported by his conduct.
But the Axis talking point, and it has been for years, is that Trump “only cares about himself.” My sister keeps saying this—it’s a mantra on MSNBC. Trump has lost money and popularity by running for President and worse, winning. He’s been shot. He’s been the victim of political prosecutions. Althouse yesterday asked where the “he’s only in it for himself” trope comes from. “I don’t see it,” she said. NO President is “only in it for himself.”
I do get the impression that one-on-one Trump is more like this than his public persona, which doesn’t really surprise me. Even though he is not a professional politician, I don’t see how he could have had the success he has if it didn’t come through in his rallies that he actually does care about the people he’s asking to support him.
True, he does have his own brand of word salad. But it’s an entree that people can connect with, and that actually has some meaning and substance behind it if you look for the broader picture and not necessarily parsing every phrase.
And, of course, he does have his mean side and propensity for belittling nicknames. I could live without all that, to be honest. But I’ll put up with it rather than the angry, mean, nasty folks he is running against.
I don’t have the time or energy to find it again, but I recall seeing a reddit thread where somebody had asked for stories about personal encounters with Donald Trump, and the vast majority of anecdotes were positive ones. It brings to mind the notion that you can take the measure of a person by seeing how they treat those who can do nothing for them.
However, I think this gets a bit muddied when it comes to celebrities, especially politicians. I’d think for most celebrities it’s easy to be gracious to fans, because the average man on the street CAN do something for you. They can spread the word on how awesome you are, or at least give you that ego boost of instant recognition and admiration. So as far as whether Trump’s one-one persona or his public persona is the “real” Trump, I’d say both sides give him different advantages, at least in his own mind.
As far as one-on-one with DJT, I have a friend that worked directly for the Donald and his then wife Ivana. (He also worked directly for Hugh Hefner. How he got these jobs is beyond me.) My friend said that DJT was hands down the best boss he ever had. I also seem to remember a news story (years ago now) on Trump where his personal secretaries were interviewed (he had three or four of them.) It made mention of the fact that they all had been with him for many years. It was said that his secretaries were instructed to always put through calls from his children; regardless of what multi-million dollar deal he was in the middle of negotiating. If one of his children called, he took the call then and there. Anecdotal to be sure, but those who were asked sure spoke well of him.
Interesting, I would’ve expected Trump to be a difficult boss, which isn’t, in and of itself, meant to be a slam on his character; I’d think any major CEO would have high standards for the people directly under him. Also, Trump in general keeps making me think of our host’s father’s reaction to meeting Bill Clinton:
I guess my point is that people rarely see every side of every person they know. It wouldn’t surprise me if Kamala Harris has friends and family that think she’s a genuinely good person (though I understand she does have a reputation of being difficult to work for).
“though I understand she does have a reputation of being difficult to work for“
A verified >92% turnover is difficult to dispute…
PWS
RFKjr with a Trump story, about a month ago:
“On two occasions, I sued him.. He was trying to build golf courses up in the New York City Reservoir watershed. And I sued him successfully to stop that.
At one point, my wife at that time had been trying to find…she wanted to go to Palm Beach for the weekend to see my mom over Easter, and I said I, you know, I didn’t want to buy tickets for all the kids.
And she said, ‘What if I find a free ride?’ I said okay. I didn’t think she was gonna do it, but then she said I found a free ride, and I said, ‘Who?’ And she said Donald Trump — and I said, ‘I’m suing him!’
Then she said, ‘He told me he knows you’re suing him, but it’s okay anyway. I had a great time. I still sued him.”
The funny part about that question is that Harris was asked the same thing a week earlier but would not give much of an answer at the end of her interview on Univision Town Hall in Las Vegas. On Thursday, audience member Teresa Djedjro, 48 and originally born in Mexico, asked Harris to, “Please give me three virtues that Trump has.”
Harris laughed and thanked her for the question before saying, “I know that the vast majority of us has so much more in common than what separates us.” Then she made clear that is not the case for herself and the former president, saying Trump’s approach to politics, “pains me” while singling out his ”us versus them” approach.
“I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation, and I don’t admire that,” Harris said. “And I’m quite critical of it, coming from someone who wants to be president of the United States.”
Taking another stab at a compliment, she offered, “I think Donald Trump loves his family and I think that’s very important,” only to continue, “But I don’t really know him. I only met him one time … so I don’t really have much more to offer you.”
Trump is holding his own Univision town hall next week, after the original gathering in Miami was postponed due to Hurricane Milton. Still, he too has had little nice to say about Harris during the campaign, calling her “mentally impaired.
She’s really beyond belief. “He loves his family” is like saying “He walks upright.”
I don’t think she believes he walks upright.
Like me, Trump is a true believer, appalled at what has overtaken our society and country. He truly wants to set things right in America. Despite his annoying style, he has the intelligence and strength to govern.
More attributes to praise – he is funny as hell, and does not hold a grudge.
Grandma Lisa