Playboy Readers in 1997 Saw Donald Trump as 'Shallow' and 'Savvy' Long Before His Presidency

In the year 1997, Former President Donald Trump was a well-established figure in the U.S. He owned buildings and beauty pageants; he was a businessman for sure but his political side was not yet established. Though there was no news of him stepping into politics just yet, some Playboy readers seemingly knew what was coming. A Reddit user recently shared a page from a November 1997 Playboy issue. It showed readers' reactions to an interview with Trump. Some responses were positive. Others were strikingly critical. These comments show how people viewed Trump long before his presidency in 1997.

Robert Lee Hefter, from New Jersey, didn't hold back. He told the newspaper at the time: "The Trump interview confirms my suspicions about the man: incredibly shallow, a master of self-delusion, and out of touch with 99.9 percent of human reality. Turning inherited money, borrowed money, and stolen money (a more honest term than tax abatements) into fast food for the eyes isn't [a] success, it's malignancy." Hefter even broke down Trump's apparent business model in simple terms: "Here, stripped of buzz words, is how the economy operates for such types: We buy the chips and they gamble with them. If they win, they get to keep everything. If they lose, we pay them back. Simple," as per Unilad.

Another reader of Playboy, Judith Shannon, questioned Trump's claims of being self-made. She asked: "How can someone whose father made $20,000,000 and who grew up in a 23-room house say he's self-made?" Given that Trump often boasted about his success but rarely mentioned his privileged start, many of his critics don't think he necessarily is 'self made.'

Not all readers were critical, though. Some admired Trump's business acumen. Roger C. Ukele from Kansas wrote: "I enjoyed the Playboy Interview with Donald Trump in the March issue. His no-nonsense approach to life and business has earned my respect."

Al Bannowsky from Utah went even further: "Your Donald Trump interview changed me from a critic to a fan. Hell, if he ran for political office, I would vote for him. Maybe if he were in charge of the national budget, we might make some progress." Bannowsky's comment was particularly striking because he seemed to predict Trump's political career years before the businessman actually ran for office. These varied responses show how divisive Trump was back then; some saw him as a savvy businessman, and others were less than impressed. This split in opinion only seems to have grown stronger over time.

Trump assisted in managing his father's huge portfolio of residential housing developments in the New York City boroughs before taking over the company, which he renamed the Trump Organization, in 1971, as per BBC. In a 1980 interview, a 34-year-old Trump described politics as a 'very mean life' and stated that the 'most capable people' prefer the business world. By 1987, he was hinting at a presidential run. He briefly considered running for the Reform Party in 2000, then again as a Republican in 2012, before he finally launched his successful bid in 2016.