Richard Branson hasn’t been holding back when it comes to Donald Trump, recently calling him an embarrassment to the world, but it turns out their beef extends all the way back to 2004.
That’s when Trump sent the Virgin Group founder a pretty nasty letter, telling him that his new TV show would fail and questioning whether Branson was actually a billionaire.
The exchange has only just come to light, with Branson’s new memoir ‘Finding My Virginity’ laying bare the now-President’s pettiness.
Here’s Donald’s full letter via Business Insider:
“Dear Richard:
“I see that you are trying to take me on with your nasty comments, much the same way as Mark Cuban had tried. As you know, Mark went down in flames, his show was unceremoniously cancelled, never to return again. In any event. now that I have watched your show, I wish you came to me and asked my advice — I would have told you not to bother. You have no television persona and, as I found out with others a long time ago, if it’s not there there’s not a thing in the world you can do about it.
“At least your dismal ratings can now allow you to concentrate on your airline which, I am sure, needs every ounce of your energy. It is obviously a terrible business and I can’t imagine, with fuel prices etc., that you can be doing any better in it than anyone else. Like television, you should try to get out of the airline business too, as soon soon as possible! Actually, I wonder out loud how you can be anywhere close to a billionaire and be in that business. Perhaps the title of your show, The Rebel Billionaire, is misleading?
“In any event, do not use me in order to promote your rapidly sinking show — you are a big boy, try doing it by yourself!
“Sincerely,
“Donald J. Trump”
My personal favourite there is ‘you are a big boy’, but I’ll let you pick your own.
I guess we know where Melania gets it from.
According to Branson himself, he decided to pen a reply:
…he sent a restrained reply five days later.
“I have enjoyed our time we have spent together and would not denigrate you personally,” Branson wrote, saying he told interviewers they had different values, namely on whether or not vengeance should be a motivating factor in business. He also said his billionaire status was confirmed by the shares he sold and owned in his British and Australian airlines.
“Perhaps you could re-read what I have said to date and decide whether it’s worth us remaining as friends — or alternatively, you adding me to your list of enemies! It’s your call,” Branson wrote in signing off.
And now for the cherry on top, the next time the two had any contact. According to Branson that was in 2015, when Donald was running for the Republican seat:
Branson said he received an envelope from Trump with a Los Angeles Times article from a few days earlier. It was about the competition among Branson, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to develop the first commercially viable private aerospace company. Trump had taken a Sharpie and drawn an arrow pointed at Branson’s photograph, writing, “RICHARD — GREAT!”
Branson said ignored this note, as well as the invitations he said followed. As he said in his book, “I was one businessperson his divisive rhetoric and bullying behavior [sic] would not impress.”
Rumour has it Trump hung onto that Sharpie and spent the rest of the day engrossed in a colouring in book.
This has little in common with what we’ve spoken about above, but I feel like we should also rehash Trump’s fake name history.
Below from Fortune, detailing when he used the name ‘Johnny Miller’ to spread rumours about himself:
Trump apparently offered a new spokesman, John Miller, to Sue Carswell of People magazine in 1991. Unlike Baron, who was concerned with business matters, Miller served to spread gossip about Trump’s romantic exploits. Miller made sure that Carswell understood that Trump was practically being hounded by celebrated women – Kim Basinger and Madonna were mentioned – and that in addition to his relationship with Marla Maples he had “three other girlfriends.”
In an interviewed recorded on tape by Sue Carswell, Miller explains that Trump broke things off with Maples – “he really didn’t want to make a commitment” — in favor [sic] of the celebrity beauty Carla Bruni [below]. Miller went on to say Trump was doing “tremendously well financially “and that many other famous women were pursuing him romantically…
Months later, after People magazine outed John Miller as Donald Trump, Britain’s Daily Mail asked Bruni whether she was dating Trump. She refuted the story and called Trump a “lunatic.” When contacted by the Mail, Trump backed down and suggested he had nothing to do with the stories. “These stories are sheer nonsense,” he said.
That from the man who shouts FAKE NEWS every chance he gets.
[sources:businessinsider&fortune]
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