The Writer, the Firebrand and the President

                                                                                

This is the story of three men-- a writer, a firebrand and the President of the United States. The three men-- Michael Wolff, Steve Bannon and Donald Trump-- appear to be joined at the hip in the present media moment. Baby boomers all. These guys love to stir the pot. They court controversy. They attack their enemies with vigor.

They have collided like three big ships crowding the same harbor. Bannon and Trump are taking on water after the collision. The collision is the publication of Michael Wolff's book-- Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

I pulled some biographical information from Wikipedia on the three men, capturing a few key moments in their personal and career development. 

Michael Wolff—the writer

Born:              August 27, 1953 (age 64)

Where:          New Jersey

Parents:        Lewis A. Wolff, an advertising professional, and Marguerite "Van" Wolff (1925-2012), a newspaper reporter

 College:         Columbia University

Revealing Anecdote:      

Michael Wolff is not shy about controversy! He published his first magazine article in the New York Times Magazine in 1974: a profile of Angela Atwood, a neighbor of his family. As a member Symbionese Liberation Army she helped kidnap Patricia Hearst.

Achievement: 

In the fall of 1998, Wolff published a book, Burn Rate, which recounted the details of the financing, positioning, personalities, and ultimate breakdown of Wolff's start-up Internet company, Wolff New Media. The book became a bestseller. 

Known for:     Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House 

Problem:        

Michael Wolff has been accused of making stuff up in the past… as in creating new realities for his non-fiction books and articles

Donald Trump-- President of the United States

Born;               June 14, 1946 (age 71)

Where:            Queens, New York

Parents:          Trump's immigrant roots!

Fred Trump was primarily active in real estate in Queens and Brooklyn. Trump's mother Mary Anne emigrated to New York from Scotland. Fred and Mary were married in 1936 and raised their family in Queens.

College:           Wharton School

Revealing Anecdote:         

Donald Trump couldn’t wait to get to Manhattan! At age 13, Trump enrolled in the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school, after his parents discovered that he had made frequent trips into Manhattan without their permission.

Achievement:            

Donald Trump learned media from the inside.He hosted The Apprentice, a reality television game show about business, from 2003 to 2015

Known for:                 

45^th President of the United States

Problem:           

Doesn't like to read. Allowed Michael Wolff access to White House. Characterized as “losing it” by Steve Bannon and Michael Wolff.

Steve Bannon--        firebrand, political strategist 

Born:                November 27, 1953, (age 64 years)

Where?            Norfolk, Virginia

Parents            Doris a homemaker and Martin Bannon, who worked as an AT&T telephone lineman.

 College:          an educated man

* Virginia Tech in 1976. 

* Georgetown University School of Foreign Service 

* Harvard Business School-- MBA degree with honors 

Revealing Anecdote:   the birth of “Sloppy Steve”…?

During the summers, Steve Bannon took a job working at a local junkyard often coming home so dirty his mother made him rinse off with a hose before being allowed into the house.

Notable success:       Navy man

Bannon was an officer in the United States Navy for seven years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, serving on the USS Paul F. Foster destroyer and, afterwards stateside as a special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon. Bannon's job at the Pentagon was, among other things, handling messages between senior officers and writing reports about the state of the Navy fleet worldwide.

Known for:          Executive chair of Breitbart News 

Became White House chief strategist to President Donald Trump

Problem—Steve Bannon must have forgotten the old saying about “loose lips sink ships” that he should have learned in the Navy and/or Pentagon. He reportedly said Ivanka Trump is “dumb as a brick” and stated that Donald Trump is “losing it.” Fired by Trump several months ago, Bannon recently lost the support of his billionaire Breitbart backer, the Mercer family, with anti-Trump statements. 

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