Trump has always craved the respect of NYC's elite, but he's tacky and they hate him. So Bloomberg drives him nuts. https://t.co/jGhLS83k1s
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) July 29, 2016
Gotta love the rich cosmopolitan parochialism of New York City dwellers. It’s a high-stimulus city, too demanding for a lot of us, but when we flee we open up spaces for aspiring hustlers with big dreams. Like Mike Bloomberg, who’s become so much a NYC archeotype it can be hard to remember he was born in a streetcar suburb of Boston. New York’s always got room for immigrants, as long as they’re willing to learn the local mores…
… Bloomberg is not a Democrat. Nor is he running for office. But he gets the threat of physical violence and a fun nickname because someone like Bloomberg offending Trump is especially offensive to Trump.
Any New Yorker can tell you why. It’s because Trump has spent decades ignoring one of the cardinal rules of being publicly rich in this town: If you must flaunt your money, then you must also give it away in large sums. If you don’t, then you’ll spend your life feeling like an outsider, building resentment against those who should be your set. And that’s exactly what Trump has done…
No, this isn’t Edith Wharton’s New York City, but there are still rules. For one, if you want to attend everyone’s fancy charity parties, then you’ve got to make a donation. If you don’t make the donation, then prepare for everyone to stare daggers at you, to worry about your financial situation, to judge you.
If you don’t give, then eventually people will invite you to fewer events. They’ll consider you especially rude for going to the ones that you have been invited to out of politeness. That is when you are truly rejected by people who, ideally, since you’re a “billionaire, too,” should be your peers.
And that’s when the gauche things you do as a rich person are suddenly inexcusable. People may see you at parties, but they do not really see you. They see a clown, a joke, a fraud…
Over the years, Trump has yearned for Bloomberg’s acceptance as he has been for the acceptance of others in Bloomberg’s cohort. Again, he considers himself, as a fellow billionaire, part of their world. Back when Bloomberg was considering a run for president himself, Trump told CNN, “We used to be friends. I guess we’re not friends anymore.”
Oh, you thought you guys were friends? …
This understanding of Trump’s relationship with those in his social class should also provide some clarity as to why Wall Street has given relatively no money to Trump’s campaign. You see, it’s like this: He never gave to their charity cases.
So they’re not giving to his.
"Little" Michael Bloomberg, who never had the guts to run for president, knows nothing about me. His last term as Mayor was a disaster!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Last recorded gift by Bloomberg to his charitable foundation: $645 million, 2014.
By @realdonaldtrump: $30,000, 2008 https://t.co/Nwo8j9jdns— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) July 29, 2016
Late Night Snark Open Thread: No-Charity CasePost + Comments (88)