Author View (Meredith McIver)

For many months the façade of Trump Tower facing Fifth Avenue has been under wraps, while Gucci redesigned the former Asprey space into its own. As of today, the wrapping has come off and I can say that it was well worth the wait. They’ve done a spectacular job, inside and out, and when you come to NYC and visit Trump Tower, I think you’ll agree. I know Mr. Trump is pleased with the results, and the ribbon-cutting celebration will be in a few days. In reviewing upcoming events, I’d like to mention a very worthy cause, which is Autism Speaks. They are more...

So far, the New Year has been shaping up very well. The Celebrity Apprentice season started off as the #1 show on Thursday night, and word has it that it’s sharp, funny and insightful. I thought so when I saw it earlier, and realized it must be good if the hour zipped by as quickly as it did, but it’s nice to have back-up opinions that are similar. We’re looking forward to a great season, and we hope you are too. Don Jr., Ivanka and George Ross are back as Mr. Trump’s advisors. Later this month, Mr. Trump’s new book, Never Give more...

We’ve all heard Mr. Trump discuss the importance of establishing yourself and then defending yourself. One seems to follow the other - once you become successful, it’s great, but you also become a target. I’ve been around long enough to know that Mr. Trump follows the advice he gives others - if they come after you, you have to go after them. Most of time it’s simply to set the record straight when the facts seem to escape the grasp of journalists and other people with the tools to damage your business and reputation. A couple of weeks ago an article came more...

As predicted, this was going to be a busy month, and it has started that way. The Apprentice filming is in full swing, and that means early mornings and late nights for Mr. Trump, as well as for Ivanka and Don Jr. Mr. Trump is accustomed to an over-the-top schedule, and the office has proceeded seamlessly despite this added activity. Having the Mark Burnett team back is almost like getting back to normal in some ways, which says a lot for their expertise. Not too many places can absorb a television show being in process with hardly a ripple felt by more...

October promises to be an eventful month here at Trump Tower. On October 16th, Mr. Trump’s new book, Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life will launch nationwide. This book was written with Bill Zanker, the dynamic founder of The Learning Annex, who credits Mr. Trump with showing him how to think big--and  the success he has had with The Learning Annex is evidence that it works. Mr. Trump has been a speaker with The Learning Annex for several years and he regularly draws 50,000 people to his wealth expo speeches. Back in 2004, Mr. Trump and Robert Kiyosaki met more...

It wasn’t too long ago that I was telling you about the early days when The Apprentice was shot here in Trump Tower and around New York. I was saying that we missed the team when they left, which was true. The good news is that they’re coming back--The Apprentice will be shooting here starting in October. That means a lot of extra activity but it also means good energy. We’re looking forward to having them back. September always seems like a New Year to me, probably because that’s when the new school year started. It’s a great feeling, and I hope more...

I am often asked what it’s like to be in Mr. Trump’s office during a meeting. The first word that comes to my mind is “energizing.” There’s no way one can be in a meeting with Mr. Trump without feeling a bit of a buzz, whether it be adrenalin or something else. It’s also true that there’s no way you can leave a meeting without feeling the residue of that buzz. I remember a very intense meeting a few years ago with one of Mr. Trump’s editors from Random House, which had proceeded at the rather typical--to us--breakneck speed. When the editor more...

In the summer of 2003, I can remember when Mark Burnett came up to the office to discuss a few things with Mr. Trump. I was not a big television watcher, and I had never seen a reality show. I heard that Mark Burnett had an idea to use Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization as the premise for a new show, a business show. I didn’t think much about it because I was busy writing our first book, which eventually became How To Get Rich. A lot of people think we wrote the book to satisfy the demands of the publicity more...

The New York Times Book Review ran a comprehensive and well-researched articled about two years ago called Ghosts in the Machine, about ghostwriters and co-authors throughout history. There were books mentioned by Charles de Gaulle and Andre Malraux, Thomas Mann, and other notable people, and it ended with a critique of Donald Trump’s books. This critic concluded that his books were seamless, and despite having different co-authors, all of his books over the past eighteen years had retained the exact “Donaldian” voice of Donald Trump - which the critic considered to be “an astonishing achievement.” This was high praise coming from the more...

“Tenacity is absolutely necessary for success” - Meredith McIver Don Trump Jr. started at the Trump Organization the same month I did, which was September of 2001. I remember being impressed by how unassuming he was as well as how diligent he was. Not that I should be surprised, because he has his father’s work ethic to the core. He’s a serious businessman who takes on a lot of responsibility and doesn’t expect any breaks because of his family heritage. If anything, he has more responsibility, which he handles with aplomb. He is mature beyond his years. A few years later, Ivanka Trump more...

I’ve been working in the front office of The Trump Organization since September of 2001. My office is just outside of Mr. Trump’s, and the acoustics are perfect for hearing everything that goes on. It also helps that Mr. Trump rarely closes his door, and that he doesn’t use an intercom. People often ask me what it’s like here, in this rarefied environment, made more famous because of The Apprentice, which brought the workings of The Trump Organization to public interest. My first response is that it’s loud. That was one of my first impressions when I started to work here more...