Commentary

Final Analysis: Would You Go to Work for Donald Trump?

Or would you rather end up on his enemies list?

By John Levesque February 7, 2017

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This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Seattle Magazine.

Imagine getting a call inviting you to work for your country.

Now imagine your new boss is Donald J. Trump.

Would you move to Washington, D.C., to work for the president of the United States? For this president of the United States?

From what we know through simple observation, Donald Trump suffers from chronic narcissism, he doesnt read much, he rarely smiles, he has a vindictive streak, he treats women badly, he has the argumentative skills of a bruised tangerine, he fears foreigners almost as much as he fears the truth and he spends his waking hours attached to marionette strings being manipulated by Steve I Shave on Alternate Thursdays Bannon.

Sure, youve probably suffered under bad bosses. But this guy takes the plagiarized inauguration cake. He thinks its OK to assault women. He made fun of a journalists disability. He said a judge couldnt be impartial because of his ethnic heritage. He doesnt pay people who have done work for him. He has been a plaintiff in nearly 2,000 lawsuits.

We have to assume that Sally Yates, the acting attorney general who got herself fired in January for standing up to President Trumps ban on accepting immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries, has probably updated her resume by now. No doubt she proudly included a mention that she torched the president whose approval rating after one week in office had dropped faster than it had for anchovy-swirl ice cream.

If I worked for Trump, it would most likely be a challenging assignment. I try to be gracious and diplomatic with supervisors and coworkers, but I draw the line with people who lie to me. Or lie to others and put me in an awkward position. With them, Im not so gracious, and I dont hold my tongue. Which would probably get me early induction into the Sally Yates Hall of Flame.

Or maybe on the presidents enemies list. None other than Trumps reality-TV pal, Omarosa Manigault, has revealed that the president possesses a long memory longer, even, than his neckties and that his people are keeping a list of those who dont like him.

I know I should give my president the benefit of the doubt, but Im happy to make an exception in this case. I dont like Donald Trump. And I would be honored to be on his enemies list. Not since I played pickup baseball in grade school have I had such an urge to scream, Pick me! Pick me! Being added to a Presidential Enemies List would be such a treat, a career topper, really. Better than submitting to a colonoscopy without anesthesia. Or watching reruns of Celebrity Apprentice. Without anesthesia.

If selected, I would pledge to save my best words for the president and I would only use them in the bigliest way.

Of course, making the enemies list means I might never get the call to join the new administration. I might never get to engage in locker-room banter with POTUS. I might never get to untangle the marionette strings. I might never get to buy razors for Steve Bannon.

It is a sobering realization. But we must serve where we are best suited.

John Levesque is the managing editor of Seattle Business magazine. Reach him at [email protected].

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