TrumpMania – A Book Review
Donald Trump is not only the 45th president of the United States of America; he is a WWE Hall of Famer as well. Donald Trump the man is essentially a professional wrestling gimmick. He’s over the top, unapologetic and always on. Most importantly, he’s believable. The McMahon-Trump relationship goes back to the 1980’s and it’s alive and well in 2018 all the same. A book written by Lavie Margolin aptly titled TrumpMania takes in depths looks at this relationship and begs the question….did the McMahon family have a hand in getting Trump elected?
The book chronicles the McMahon-Trump interactions in depth from the beginning up until now. Vince McMahon and Donald Trump have many similarities both professionally and personally, as the intro states. It’s no surprise their paths would cross on screen and off. They both seemingly worked from the bottom in family businesses, to the tops of their respective fields. They both show alpha characteristics and tendencies. McMahon was an open supporter of Trump early on, and Trump Plaza was the home of two consecutive WrestleMania’s in Atlantic City in the late 80’s. I found the book itself very educational and learned a lot about the early years of the Vince and Donald relationship.
A few things that stuck out to me were that Trump announced that WrestleMania 5 would be at Trump Plaza, just as WrestleMania 4 was, however he made the announcement of Mania 5 before he knew if Mania 4 would be a success or not. The TrumpMania’s were also the first to host a fan fest, which would later turn into a week-long event before each Mania. I was also unaware that Trump Plaza hosted a GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) event in between the two WrestleMania events. This branching out into professional wrestling proved that even back then, Trump was not afraid to take chances. No risk, no reward as they say.
The book also covers a plethora other important WWE/Trump story lines such as the Battle of the Billionaires and Trump’s various appearances on RAW over the years. Linda McMahon and her role in the dynamic between the Donald and Vince is covered as well. Now that she’s a member of President Trump’s cabinet, as the head of the Small Business Administration, this is a subject that is all too relevant in today’s political climate.
The McMahon and Trump families are some of the most polarizing characters in pop culture history, so that alone makes it an interesting read. TrumpMania clocks in at 212 pages, which left me wanting more, but I would highly recommend reading this. Whether you are a fan of professional wrestling, politics, or both, dive into TrumpMania. Some of the facts regarding the Trump/McMahon families will probably surprise you. I also found the “where are they now” section at the end of the book very informative and interesting. It’s not often that books will give you total closure like that. It was a nice touch.
You can grab a physical copy or digital download on amazon.
A Book Review By: Philip Meraglia