... and rejected him.
Sure, he's being played, but he is easy to play because to him, this, like everything else, is driven by his psychopathic/narcissistic need to exact vengeance for the most basic wounds his eggshell ego has suffered.
However much money he amassed, however often he managed insinuate himself into the the upper circles of Northeast Megalopolis society (from Boston to DC with NYC at it's center) he was always viewed with contempt as the vulgar, ill-mannered, grasping troll that he is. Even at the highest levels of society, that corridor is a melting pot that values pluralism and is a curious blend of progressive social values, internationalism, and high-stakes economic competition.
And he was desperate to be embraced in that world.
And he never was.
He was humiliated and rejected.
He may have convinced himself he was a player, but he knew the truth. He was an object of contempt.
His most beloved symbols of success were mocked as tacky and gouache. The attitude toward him in upper circles was reflected in the media. Newsweek highlighted his fall (Trump: The Fall). Quotes like "You live by the glitz, you die by the glitz," from people he claimed as "friends" capture how he was viewed. Vanity Fair described his "moral larceny" and reputation for slinging bullshit.
And so, he gets his vengeance by destroying the institutions embraced by those that rejected him. He seeks to destroy and corrupt executive agencies that advance the rule-of-law and progressive social values. He advances the interests of the illiberal autocratic forces that are hellbent on destroying the rules-based international order forged more than 75 years ago. He rejects the transatlantic alliances that are held dear, not just by "the elite," but by all of us who believe in the idea of "The Good Will of the American People" as a powerful force committed to advancing human rights, human dignity, and self-determination across this planet.
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