In an interview with USA Today Donald Trump said:
Trump described himself as an Ayn Rand fan. He said of her novel The Fountainhead, “It relates to business (and) beauty (and) life and inner emotions. That book relates to … everything.” He identified with Howard Roark, the novel’s idealistic protagonist who designs skyscrapers and rages against the establishment.
When I pointed out that The Fountainhead is in a way about the tyranny of groupthink, Trump sat up and said, “That’s what is happening here.”
When I was in high school Rand was a very popular author. Kids used to carry around her books and I’d see them reading it while they were walking to class. Maybe that was still going on when youngster Trump was going to school.
Dang. Maybe Libertarians for Trump is not so far fetched after all.
Comments
8 responses to “I’m Gob Smacked – Ayn Rand?”
You do remember what Roark did to the building? Trump seems to have the same mindset. There was a time when I thought that Alan Greenspan was secretly imploding the monetary system in a kind of Francisco d’Anconia underground move. What I came to realize is that Greenspan’s a sellout and turncoat. But hey, who knows, maybe all these years Donald Trump has just been playing the part of crony capitalist while secretly preparing for the day when he can bring it all down a la Francisco’s destruction of his copper mines. NOW it all makes sense!
Frank,
I have to admit I didn’t read a one of her books. I have seen some of her interviews and know of her reputation in libertarian circles.
The establishment is certainly treating Trump like a turncoat. So who knows.
The only thing I know for sure is that all the rest are bought and paid for. There is some small chance that Trump isn’t. A very slim reed to be sure.
But he is already causing change. The Congress is looking to get our NATO allies to up their defense spending to their agreed limits. Something the Congress hasn’t paid attention to for years.
Simon, it’s been so many years since I read The Fountainhead that I barely remember the characters except for Roark who blew up a public housing project (I think it was public housing?) because they built it using his design without his consent. As to Shrugged, that was such an effort for a 17 y/o to read, and reread, that I definitely remember it. The most memorable, useful, and true episode in it is Francisco d’Anconia’s famous nature of money speech given at a party.
http://capitalismmagazine.com/2002/08/franciscos-money-speech/
Thanks! I’m in the process of reading it.
[…] Trump reads Ayn Rand […]
Heh. Who’d a thought that?
Points for Trump.
Roark blew up the low-cost private housing building he designed because they ruined his plans.
Anyway, for some good Randian fun try one of her anti non-Euclidean geometry rants.
BTW, Reagan mentioned reading Rand and Hayek in an interview with Virginia Postrel.