He never has made a living. He went from my grandparents' house to the very regimented military school, back to the house, to my grandfather's company, to the Trump Organization, which I view as a sinecure for him. And then 'The Apprentice,' whatever that was, and the White House.
I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.
Donald learned from a very young age that in order to survive in my family, he needed to be what my grandfather referred to as a killer, you know, somebody who had no weaknesses - in other words, kindness, generosity, sensitivity. So I think, over time, those qualities were systematically drilled out of Donald by his dad.
A lot of people who end up being horrible criminals when they are adults had very abusive childhoods. You can have sympathy for that child. It does not at all, under any circumstances, diminish their responsibility for what they do.
In Donald's mind, even acknowledging an inevitable threat would indicate weakness. Taking responsibility would open him up to blame. Being a hero - being good - is impossible for him.
The fact is, Donald's pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neurophysical tests that he'll never sit for.
You know, I think it was very important that my grandmother be perceived a very particular way in terms of being charitable or generous. I don't think Donald cares about those two things necessarily. He has his own version of what he wants the world to see.
While thousands of Americans die alone, Donald touts stock market gains. As my father lay dying alone, Donald went to the movies. If he can in any way profit from your death, he'll facilitate it, and then he'll ignore the fact that you died.
I had to take down Donald Trump.
This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism; Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be.
My grandfather didn't have any patience for little kids or their needs.
I saw firsthand what focusing on the wrong things, elevating the wrong people can do - the collateral damage that can be created by allowing somebody to live their lives without accountability.
It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.
In my family, it was kind of an unwritten rule that certain behaviors that would have been crossing a line for other people were OK if you were a particular Trump.
The worst thing my grandfather did, starting from very early on, was just not accept my father for who he is. As soon as he realized that my dad wasn't the 'right kind of person' - he wasn't 'a killer', he wasn't 'tough' - he dismissed him out of hand and quickly found a replacement in Donald.
All the kids - well, I don't know about the girls in the family, but all the boys - worked in my grandfather's office in the summers and maybe on weekends once in a while, so they saw how he operated. They saw how he treated people. They saw the kinds of people he rubbed elbows with.
And how can you be happy if you don't laugh or appreciate humor?
I have no problem calling Donald a narcissist - he meets all nine criteria as outlined in the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM-5) - but the label gets us only so far.
Casual dehumanization of people was commonplace at the Trump dinner table.
The name Joe Shapiro is not uncommon in New York City.
