Video: Donald Trump Defends Adding Name To Building On 'Today' Show
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 13, 2014 6:00PM
Celebrity pitchman and failed Queens casino owner Donald Trump took his defense of adding his surname to his eponymous Chicago skyscraper to NBC’s “Today” Show Friday morning, where he took schoolyard bully swipes at Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin and reminded host Matt Lauer the 20-foot high letters (which will be backlit at night) were approved by the Daley administration. Listen.
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For all the sniping between Trump and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Trump and Kamin, Trump and architect Adrian Smith, Trump and anyone on social media, this was not unexpected. After all, it's Trump's unchecked hubris that results in him adding his name to every building, golf course, development and brand item he endorses, instead of allowing the aesthetic pleasures of their creation stand in final judgment. Smith's design for Trump Tower is a welcome addition to the city skyline and, decades from now, will stand among the most notable buildings in Chicago when future architecture critics are asked to weigh in.
But Trump's ego and insecurity get the best of him, every time. As Neil Steinberg wrote earlier this week.
The allure of Donald Trump has always mystified me. I like fancy stuff as much as the next guy. A well-crafted English shoe. An exotic car. But to me Trump represents not quality, not taste, but expense for expense’s sake. Wretched excess. Money divorced from sense, from balance. “Trump” is so synonymous with a kind of gold-plated lusting after empty status, it’s hard for me to believe anyone thinks otherwise.
And the hullabaloo allows Trump to keep his name at the front of the current media cycle, where he always wants to be. Maybe if that sign's letters were installed in one swoop there would be less outrage. But we sat through weeks of "TRU" and "TRUM" Tower, wondering when the sign would be complete, fueling our criticisms.