Name: Richard Parsons Never Saw Donald Trump as ‘Presidential Timber’
Uploaded: 2016-07-22
Duration: 4 min 41 s
Description: And says the nominee is the same person behind closed doors

The GOP convention. My goodness. You are a Rockefeller Republican. Is there such a thing anymore? No, I think someone told me there are three left in New York, and that we're all hiding out. I have to say, it is the whole display, particularly culminating this week has been Extremely disappointing that somebody who came out of the Rockefeller orientation towards what the role of government is and how to lead and how to govern. This is almost, it is, in fact, unrecognizable to me. I don't get it. I really don't. I don't understand how we've ended up Particularly on the Republican side in terms of the candidates and the rhetoric. And of course we're in New York City and Trump Tower is right across 5th Avenue from here. Do you know him? I know Donald. Are you seeing a different person on the campaign trail than the person you know? [ LAUGH ] The one person, the one thing that sort of remains. Consistent [ INAUDIBLE ] is the Donald, as he likes to call himself. And through force of personality and presence, he's forced everything else to bend to him. I've known him a long time. Way back even before I went to Time Warner, we were in a bank called the Dime Savings Bank in New York, and we're big lenders to the Trump organization I know his dad and family and so we go back with them and I myself never thought of Donald as presidential timber but obviously there are many many millions of americans who disagree with that assessment. Yes. Do you think he was a good businessman in your experience? Here's what I would say about Donald. First of all, I don't think he's a mean- spirited guy. I mean, he's sort of been cast now by the media, now that they've finally, having helped create this phenomenon, now they're actually doing their homework. Taking a harder look. I don't really think he's a bigot, I don't think he's a hateful person. I think he is He is genuinely oriented toward the things that he says he's oriented toward. I don't think he has, at least I'm not aware of anything in the background however that would qualify him or inform him in terms of how you get to the ends that he's identified as Desirable ends. He's a great brand builder, no question about that. I don't know that I would put him in the category of great businessman, and there's been a curious dearth of both information of our illustrations of great business accomplishments. Maybe they're there and may [ UNKNOWN ] just missed him, but I'm unaware of him. But he is a great brand builder and reality TV type star, that he's good at. Is Hilary Rodham Clinton as state senator, do you know her? Yeah, I do, I know them both pretty well. I was not A supporter of Hillary when she ran for senator in New York, but she was a good senator I had to say. I had to tip my hat, I thought she worked hard. She was in touch with her constituents. She was sensible so I was impressed with that, I really was. I thought, well, Hillary's showing us all something. It is unfortunate that there is this. That she too, has a cast of personal character. That people are uncomfortable with And therefore, not drawn to. I think she's competent. I don't know that she's what the country, ideally, could use, right now. Because, one thing, that Trump has done. And you can't blame him. Or really even credit him. But he has exposed a whole, kind of, part of the country that are people who are angry. They're disappointed, and they're, who was it in that movie, Network. Well, I'm- Right, I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore. That's it. I'm not taking it anymore. And they sorta don't care What the other side looks like. They just think that things are going so badly, whatever it is can't be any worse. I think they're wrong. I think they're dangerously wrong, but there is that swath of our country that those of us who live in New York, and New York City in particular, just have missed. I didn't know they were there. And that number. Right. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

And says the nominee is the same person behind closed doors