Lifelong pattern

Longtime observers say Trump’s behavior with Comey fits lifelong pattern

Secret deals, threats a part of his New York repertoire

By JOSH DAWSEY

FBI Director James Comey's accusation that President Donald Trump asked him to end an investigation into Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn startled many in Washington. Those who know the president best — and for the longest amount of time — say they were not surprised.

"What you’re seeing is a president who is now very publicly learning about the way people react to what he considers to be normal New York City conversation," said Gov. Chris Christie, an ally, on TV Thursday afternoon.

Trump has said the allegations are a "witch hunt," and his lawyer said Wednesday he was "completely vindicated" by Comey's submitted opening remarks.

But Comey's explosive accusations and many of Trump's other publicized missteps in Washington are the product of a president steeped in the ways of doing business in New York as a flashy real estate developer, CEO of a family business and a celebrity — and who has no plans to change, say friends, observers and longtime associates.

"I've known him for a long time and he's no different in his job than when I knew him," added George Arzt, who knew Trump while he was a reporter and a fundraiser and a spokesman for Mayor Ed Koch. "He never knew boundaries. He was tutored by Roy Cohn, the famous New York lawyer, who never knew boundaries."

Trump has long sought to strike secret deals or end investigations when he grew exasperated with casino regulators in Atlantic City or city and federal officials, said Timothy O'Brien, a longtime biographer, and Arzt.

He threatened opponents — like he did with Comey, saying there could be "tapes" of their private conversation — with threats of lawsuits and public bullying.

"He has repeatedly throughout his career tried to intervene with law enforcement, regulators and take matters into his own hands that he knew other people didn't do,” O'Brien said. "The difference between now and then is that he wasn't president then. He has never been subjected to this broad of a variety of legal and ethical norms."

Trump has shown little diplomatic restraint in his conversations with foreign adversaries and allies alike — just as he blurted out whatever was on his mind to visitors in Trump Tower — but now is sharing intelligence secrets instead of tawdry celebrity gossip.

The president's loose lips in telling intelligence secrets to the Russians that reportedly angered Israeli officials — the source of the information was reportedly from that nation — staggered many in Washington and in diplomatic circles. That he criticized Comey to the Russians as a "real nut job," according to The New York Times, drew gasps across political circles.

One longtime adviser said he would brag in Trump Tower about "how great everything is, how elegant it was, how great the views were. Of course he wanted the Russians to know how great his intelligence was."

"I wasn't surprised one bit that he told the Russians that about Comey," this person said. "It was on his mind. He says what is on his mind. He doesn't think, 'Oh maybe I shouldn't tell the Russians that.'"

In his private enterprise, he secured attention by using superlatives and bragging about his projects. He said his building was 10 stories taller than it was. Trump, at times, inflated his wealth — and admitted as much during a deposition. Yet when he told press secretary Sean Spicer to inflate his Inauguration Day crowd size, it cost the administration much-needed credibility — and hurt Spicer "almost irreparably," in the words of one Trump adviser.

"When I saw the reports about his crowd size being smaller, I knew it would drive him crazy," the adviser said.

Trump has long loved counterpunching against opponents — no matter how small they might be — to secure publicity and more attention. He hasn't changed, taunting the mayor of London and aggravating legislative allies with endless days of distractions. One White House aide, without laughing, likened his fight last week with London's mayor the day after a terrorist attack to his long-running feud with Rosie O'Donnell.

Officials in the White House and outside advisers fear, and Trump has even privately mused, that his attacks on the intelligence community have created a cascade of damaging leaks. Senior advisers, lawyers and almost everyone within earshot has encouraged him to change his Twitter habits.

But he has told several associates that he has always been successful on the attack and that he isn't going to change. His threat angered Comey, according to one associate of the former FBI director. Now, Comey has a worldwide audience Thursday to tell his story, and his opening remarks struck biographers, friends and observers as spot on.

"It doesn't surprise me one bit he would want complete loyalty," Arzt said.

One adviser who knows Trump well read the Comey testimony Wednesday afternoon and wrote in an email: "Sounds about right."

Friends say they hope the investigative scrutiny, and the nonstop bad press, will lead Trump to make some changes. But many aren't holding their breath.

"It's different. There's an immense learning curve," said Vincent Pitta, a New York City lawyer.

Pitta thinks Trump can still adapt. "He was a businessman. He was a builder. He's accustomed to a certain speed and way of doing things. He's not accustomed to three branches of government. I hope he will figure it out and some of the bumps will get worked out."