The Trump family's secret history told by the housekeeper

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump is described as someone who likes to exaggerate the details in the stories he tells and has eyes like his father, very sharp.

A portrait of a young Donald Trump hangs on the wall of the bar at the Mar-a-Lago resort. Photo: New York Times

Everything at the ultra-luxury Mar-a-Lago resort,Palm Beach, Florida, seems to always sparkle, day or night. Spread over an area of ​​20 hectares, it owns a beach with many swimming pools, the most modern spa, golf course, 5-star restaurants...,Mar-a-Lago is one of many "golden" properties of Republican presidential candidate, billionaire Donald Trump.

"You know when the king is here," the New York Times quoted Anthony Senecal, 74, billionaire Trump's longtime butler, as saying. Senecal is the person who understands and can best meet all of Trump's requests and demands because this butler has served him for nearly 30 years and has nearly 60 years of experience working at Mar-a-Lago.

Senecal knew every little thing about his boss's eating, sleeping, and entertainment preferences, from what kind of steak to choose and how well done to how Mr. Trump wanted his hair combed.

Senecal, the butler, always knew how to pamper, comfort, or cheer up his boss. Senecal said that once, a few years ago, he received an urgent message that the tycoon was about to land on a private jet and was feeling very unwell. Senecal had to immediately hire a trumpet player to come to Mar-a-Lago to play the tunes of "Hail to the Chief" for Trump to soothe him, as soon as the billionaire stepped out of the limousine.

The next morning, before dawn, Mr. Trump would wait for Senecal on the porch of his private residence to pick up the latest newspapers, including the New York Times, the Daily News, the New York Post, and the Palm Beach. Mr. Trump would disappear for a few hours and then reappear in khakis, a golf shirt, and a baseball cap. According to the staff’s years of observation, if the cap was white, it meant Mr. Trump was in a good mood. If it was red, it was best to stay as far away as possible.

On Sundays, Mr. Trump drives himself to a nearby golf course, often alternating between a black and white Bentley.

Mr. Anthony Senecal, Donald Trump's longtime butler. Photo: NYTimes

Senecal had asked to retire in 2009, but Mr. Trump insisted that the butler's position was irreplaceable. Therefore, Mr. Senecal was relieved of his position as butler but remained at Mar-a-Lago as an unofficial employee, a witness to the history here.

Senecal, who has lived with Trump for so long, seems to have adopted many of his boss’s views. He worries about terrorist attacks by the Islamic State (IS) and is often critical of Trump’s ex-wives.

In addition to his regal lifestyle, Senecal also revealed some of Trump's habits. Typically, he likes to exaggerate the details in the stories he tells.

Mr. Trump is very proud of his golf skills. He once asked reporters at a press conference a rhetorical question to praise his own talent. "Do I hit it far? Trump is strong, right?"

But Senecal says Trump may not have been as strong as he thought. He remembers the times the two golfed together, from Mar-a-Lago to the Intracoastal Waterway.

“Tony, how far did that shot go?” is a question Mr. Trump often asks his butler. “Probably 250 yards,” Senecal replies, but in reality, the shot only went about 200 yards.

According to Senecal, Trump could be very generous when he was in a good mood. He would occasionally tip the groundskeepers up to $100. Senecal described the staff as very good at flattery.

“Imagine you’re a Hispanic guy, coming in here to mow your lawn, trim your trees, or do some other odd job, and a guy comes up to you and hands you a hundred dollars,” Senecal said. “You’d love him.”

According to some anecdotes told at Mar-a-Lago, Marjorie Merriweather Post, once the richest woman in America, had invested a lot of effort in expanding the estate. She imported stone from Genoa, Italy, and 16th-century Dutch carpets to create the very aesthetic houses here. When she died in 1973, she left the house to the US government with the hope that it would become a presidential retreat. But because the maintenance costs were too high, the government had to return it to Ms. Post’s daughters. In 1985, they sold the house to Mr. Trump for less than $10 million. Mr. Trump turned it into a private club 10 years later.

These days, the biggest irritant to Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago is the planes from a nearby airport. Ms. Post assured him that the airport would divert flights there during her stay at Mar-a-Lago, but that privilege does not appear to extend to Mr. Trump.

According to Mr. Senecal, the constant roar of the plane's engine was what "drove him crazy." Each time, Mr. Trump shouted for Senecal to "call the airport control tower."

The presidential candidate is suing the airport. He has also sued the town over disputes over the size of several construction projects at the property. He has recently faced criticism from his rivals for hiring foreign workers at the resort instead of using local workers.

“We have a lot of Romanians, a lot of South Africans and an Irishman,” Mr Senecal said, counting his staff before reiterating Mr Trump’s excuse that the billionaire was reluctant to hire foreigners because locals were not interested in short-term seasonal work.

Over the decades, Senecal became attached to the Trump family. The butler still remembers the day Trump’s father got out of the limousine and told him “someone should pick up that penny.” After his boss left, Senecal bent down and stared for a few minutes before spotting a rusty penny in the grass.

“His eyes are amazing,” Senecal said. “And Trump now has the same keen eyes as his father.”

A luxurious living room at the Mar-a-Lago resort. Photo: NYTimes

Senecal said he loved all of Trump’s children but had a bad relationship with his first wife. She would make him scrub the carpets. If he couldn’t, she would do it herself. She sometimes asked him to keep the gardeners out because she wanted to bathe in the nude.

In the early 2000s, Mr. Trump decided to make his mark at Mar-a-Lago by building a 22,000-square-foot ballroom named Donald J. Trump. This was where he married his third wife, supermodel Melania Knauss. Senecal described it as a grand event with guests including politicians and celebrities, including Mrs. Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Senecal's admiration for his longtime boss seemed to know no bounds and he was the only one who always knew how to please the billionaire.

On March 6, as Mr. Trump walked from the living room to the golf course at Mar-a-Lago, Senecal asked all club members and staff to stand up to greet him. Trump was wearing a hat with the familiar slogan "Make America Great Again." The hat was white, indicating that Mr. Trump was in a good mood.

According to VNE