It has been a long time since former President Donald Trump was known more for being a landlord than a politician. But one of the 150 notes in his new book Letters to Trump from former President Richard Nixon is helping people remember those days and potentially revealing when Trump got the political bug.
Nixon’s letter was from December 1987 and followed Trump’s lengthy feature interview on the popular Phil Donahue Show, during which he talked about his youth, business, rent control, New York City politics, and international affairs.
Nixon wrote that his wife Pat watched the show and was impressed.
“Dear Donald,” Richard Nixon said, “I did not see the program, but Mrs. Nixon told me that you were really great on the Donahue Show. As you can imagine, she is an expert on politics and she predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!”
Some in the audience agreed and even seemed to plead with Trump to run.
In an interview, Trump told Secrets: “His letter was interesting. He’s actually written me numerous ones over the years, and one was that his wife said that if I ever ran for politics, I would do very well.”
He added, “She saw me on the Donahue Show. That’s a long time ago. But she said if I ever ran for politics, I would do very well.”
