Donald with his father Fred, a real-estate tycoon. Courtesy of Donald Trump
"I'm owned by the people. I'm no angel, but I'm going to do right by them."
Hey, ya made it, great to see ya!" says Donald Trump, having just stepped aboard his throne room of a plane and stopping by my seat to extend his hand. "You get the big tour yet? No? What the hell? C'mon, I'll show you myself."
I follow
him into the stateroom of the 757, past three rows of sleeper seats wrapped in
eggshell calfskin, with seat-belt buckles of plated gold and the family crest
stitched in every headrest; past the conference center, with its mahogany table
and a dozen executive high-backs snugged around it; past the in-plane theater,
with its oyster-shape couches and the 57-inch flatscreen tuned to Fox; past the
bumped-out bulkhead and the first of two bedrooms, this one fitted with
mohair couches that convert to a full-size bed; and then the master bedroom,
with its silk-spun walls and bathroom fixtures finished in rosy gold.
"Not
bad, you agree?" calls Trump over his shoulder, leading me down the
corridor to the cockpit. "I bought this from Paul Allen and gutted it top
to bottom. It's bigger than Air Force One, which is a step down from this in
every way. Rolls-Royce engines; seats 43. Didja know it was featured on the
Discovery Channel as the world's most luxurious jetliner?" (Fact-check: It
isn't bigger than Air Force One, and it was featured on the Smithsonian
Channel. But in this, as in much of what Trump says, it's more about the broad
strokes than the details.)
After
takeoff, I find him in the stateroom, reading notes. "Gotta
concentrate," he says. "I'm speaking in front of thousands. After the
rally, we'll have plenty of time to talk." For Full Article Go to Rolling Stone
