Book Review: Too Much and Never Enough

Written by Frank Li

Mary Trump’s “anti-Trump” book (Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man) is out. I have read it and hereby provide a brief review.

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0. Overview

Simply put, I agree with New York Times’s review conclusion: the book “was written with pain, and designed to hurt“. For more, watch the video at the end of this article.

Overall, while I agree with the author that Donald Trump must not be re-elected in 2020, I disagree with her on almost everything else – not the facts, but their interpretations. Specifically, four perspectives:

1. Fred Trump: Donald’s father and Mary’s paternal grandfather.
2. Freddy Trump: Mary’s father and Donald’s elder brother.
3. Donald Trump: The businessman.
4. President Trump: The world leader.

Let me elaborate on each …

1. Fred Trump

The author obviously hated Fred, her paternal grandfather. Three main reasons, I think:

1. Her father Freddy was a total failure and she blamed his failure on his father.
2. She and her elder brother Fritz “got nothing” from Fred’s will (Chapter 11: “The Only Currency”). They sued successfully and received a portion of Fred’s net worth estimated at $30 million, which later turned out to be $900 million!
3. She simply does not understand the hardship Fred went through, from entrepreneurship to supporting his large family (i.e. five children and numerous grand-children).

By all counts, Fred was not only a self-made man, but also a good man! He might have been overly dedicated to his business, but in return he amply provided for his large family, including many job opportunities for many family members and medical insurance for all his [adult] children as well as grand-children.

Very importantly, Fred always planned to pass his business along to his children, with Freddy, his second child and the oldest son, being the heir apparent, early and quickly.

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 7 (“Parallel Lines”).

When Freddy (in 1960) and Donald (in 1968) joined Trump Management, each had a similar expectation: to become his father’s right-hand man and then succeed him. They had, at different times and in different ways, been groomed to fit the part, never lacking for funds to buy expensive clothes and luxury cars. The similarities ended there.

Fred pushed Freddy hard, maybe a bit too hard. But who is perfect and who said parenting is easy, let alone trying to nurture the heir apparent?

Unfortunately, Freddy was not made for the job his father groomed him for … Below is an excerpt from Chapter 3 (“The Great I-Am”).

Freddy’s problem was his failure to be a different person entirely.

2. Freddy Trump

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 2 (“The First Son”).

Freddy’s status as the oldest son in the family had gone from protecting him from Fred’s worst impulses as a parent to being an immense and stressful burden. As he got older, he became torn between the responsibility that his father had placed on him and his natural inclination to live life his own way. Fred wasn’t torn at all: his son should be spending time at the Trump Management office on Avenue Z, not with his friends out on Peconic Bay, where he learned to love boating, fishing, and waterskiing.

In short, Freddy had a privileged childhood and was likely a spoiled brat!

After failing to work for his father “happily”, Freddy joined TWA as a pilot, which lasted only for 10 months …

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 4 (“Expecting to Fly”).

In fact, TWA had given him an ultimatum: if he resigned, he could keep his license; otherwise, it would be forced to fire him as a result of his serious alcohol problem.

Do not blame Fred for not warning Freddy beforehand! For example, to Mary, it was cruel for Fred to bluntly tell Freddy that “a pilot is just a glorified bus driver.” To me, it was a valuable piece of fatherly advice, although politically incorrect, totally!

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 5 (“Grounded”).

At twenty-nine years old, my father was running out of things to lose.

What a disappointment and tragedy in the making!

As a father, Fred must have been hurt badly, perhaps even more so than the son, which is something the author may never be able to understand!

3. Donald Trump

Simply put, Donald succeeded spectacularly where Freddy failed miserably: working for their father!

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 6 (“A Zero-Sum Game”).

Donald graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1968 and went straight to work at Trump Management. From his first day on the job, my twenty-two-year-old uncle was given more respect and perks and paid more money than my father ever had been.

Overall, Donald Trump is a very successful businessman. Two facts:

1. He succeeded far more than his father did!
2. He did file bankruptcy several times, but he succeeded far more! Failure is part of success in any, and every, business!

Two caveats:

1. Donald is not a self-made man per se. Fred was a decisive factor behind his success, especially in his early years.
2. Donald was on Fred’s payroll for a long time, and Fred kept feeding Donald with cash.

3.1 Donald and Freddy

All signs indicate that Donald was “fair” to Freddy …

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 4 (“Expecting to Fly”).

Even before they sat down for dinner, Donald started in on his older brother. “You know, Dad’s really sick of you wasting your life,” he declared, as though he’d suddenly remembered why he was there.

“I don’t need you to tell me what Dad thinks,” said Freddy, who already knew his father’s opinions all too well.

“He says he’s embarrassed by you.”

“I don’t get why you care,” Freddy replied. “You want to work with Dad, go ahead. I’m not interested.”

“Freddy,” he said, “Dad’s right about you: you’re nothing but a glorified bus driver.”

It was good for Donald to initiate this conversation, truly brotherly!

3.2 Donald and Mary

All signs indicate that Donald was “fair” to Mary, aside from the settlement of Fred’s will, that is …

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 13 (“The Political Is Personal”).

Nearly a decade would pass before I saw my family again, in October 2009 at my cousin Ivanka’s wedding to Jared Kushner. I had no idea why I’d received the invitation-which was printed on the same heavy-gauge stationery favored by the Trump Organization.

Donald made a good effort trying to patch up with her, at least …

4. President Trump

Trump has been widely criticized by his opponents, most recently in his response to two recent big events: Covid-19 and the killing of George Floyd.

Although the author has provided various explanations for his actions, she has missed the big picture: our political system is failing!

Specifically, President Trump has failed primarily for the same reason as all his [recent] predecessors (e.g. Barack Obama and George W. Bush) did: getting re-elected ad nauseam! Two informative readings:

1. President Trump Must Be One-Term, Voluntarily!
2. American Presidency: Why is One-Term a Must (Version 4)?

Of course, the author’s love for Hillary Clinton to be President does not help her judgement in this case, either.

Below is an excerpt from Prologue.

Once inside the White House, we walked in twos and threes through the long corridors, past windows looking out on gardens and lawns, past lifesized paintings of former first ladies. I stopped in front of Hillary Clinton’s portrait and stood silently for a minute. I wondered again how this could have happened.

On Covid-19, below is an excerpt from Epilogue (“The Tenth Circle”).

Donald’s initial response to COVID-19 underscores his need to minimize negativity at all costs. Fear-the equivalent of weakness in our family-is as unacceptable to him now as it was when he was three years old. When Donald is in the most trouble, superlatives are no longer enough: both the situation and his reactions to it must be unique, even if absurd or nonsensical. On his watch, no hurricane has ever been as wet as Hurricane Maria. “Nobody could have predicted” a pandemic that his own Department of Health and Human Services was running simulations for just a few months before COVID-19 struck in Washington state. Why does he do this? Fear.

5. Discussion

America is deeply in trouble. “We the People” simply do not know what to do, other than periodically casting our vote of “no confidence” to elect someone, anyone, very different to be the President – first Barack Obama, then Donald Trump. Unfortunately for America, neither has worked out …

It is my opinion that Donald Trump should not be re-elected, and this book may make the difference. Whatever happens, though, the author will surely benefit a lot from book sales (Mary Trump’s book sells 950,000 copies in preorder alone).

Once again, the book “was written with pain, and designed to hurt“.

As for the motivation, below is an excerpt from Chapter 11 (“The Only Currency”).

Two weeks after my grandfather’s funeral, I was home when a DHL truck pulled up and delivered a yellow envelope containing a copy of my grandfather’s will. I read through it twice to be sure I hadn’t misunderstood anything. I had promised my brother I’d call him as soon as I knew anything, but I was reluctant to do so. Fritz and Lisa’s third child, William, had been born hours after my grandfather’s funeral. Twenty-four hours after that, he’d begun having seizures. He had been in the neonatal intensive care unit ever since. They had two young children at home, and Fritz had to work. I had no idea how they were managing all of it. I hated to be the bearer of more bad news, but he needed to know. I called him. “So what’s the deal?” he asked. “Nothing,” I told him. “We got nothing.”

Personally, I find the book interesting because it’s written by a Trump, with unique insights into the Trump family, not only Donald Trump, but also Fred’s way of parenting: what to do, and not to do. Two related readings:

1. The Godfather: Is the Trump family different?
2. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.: He laboriously nurtured his sons to become President, while Fred merely nurtured his sons to succeed him in business, with Donald becoming President totally beyond his wildest imagination possible!

6. Closing

My recommendation: Buy the book and read it – It’s worthwhile!

Now, please sit back and enjoy the video below.

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