Том Вульф умер в 2018 в возрасте 88 лет. В марте 2016 он отзывался о Трампе с определенной симпатией, напоминая о том, что причиной успеха Рейгана было то, что просвещенные современники считали его идиотом.
TAS: Do you see him as a New York original? Wolfe: He is a lovable megalomaniac. People get a big kick out of going to his office and behind his desk is this wall of pictures of himself in the news. The childishness makes him seem honest. Many people have pointed out that he doesn’t present policy programs. There is a great scene in one of George Bernard Shaw’s novels involving an old politician who is talking to his young assistant, and they are going over a speech that he is about to deliver. The young man says, “Sir, what you have said is all principles. There are no programs.” And the old politician says, “Ah, now you are catching on, now you are getting the idea.” That seems to be Trump’s approach. If you go through our history, the strictly intellectual component of the presidency is not all that important. Just look at Reagan. He was a huge success. He was considered an idiot by half of the people in the political field. I remember Henry Kissinger was at a university once, holding a seminar for ten students and he didn’t know that his remarks were being recorded. And he said something like, “You know, when you first meet Reagan and you spend a half hour with him, you leave saying, ‘Oh my God, how could the future of the free world be dependent on such a stupid guy?’” But then Kissinger said, “And yet every move he makes is right.” Kissinger was horribly embarrassed when that came out. The point is that decision making is not necessarily an intellectual talent. One of the stories about Reagan that I remember is the time he went to Germany to speak before the Berlin Wall. It was at the time when the Berlin Wall was still a big factor. And so Reagan had a discussion with his advisers about whether or not he should say that the “wall should come down.” And they said, “Oh, don’t say that,” and then told him what he should say instead. But when Reagan gave the speech, he said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” and it was a real turning point in the Cold War. It was just Reagan’s gut reaction to the facts. https://spectator.org/65918_tom-wolfes-view-trump/
В декабре 1987 Пэт Бьюкенен вёл передачу “Crossfire” на CNN. Между ним и Трампом произошёл забавный диалог о книжке Вульфа.
Pat Buchanan: Who are your favorite authors? Donald Trump: Well, I have a number favorite authors. I think Tom Wolfe is excellent. Pat Buchanan: Did you read Vanity of the the Bonfires? Donald Trump: I did not. Tom Braden: What book are you reading now? [Crosstalk] Donald Trump: I reading my own book again because I think it’s so fantastic Tom. Pat Buchanan: What’s the best book you’ve read beside Art of the Deal? Donald Trump: I really like Tom Wolfe last book. And I think he’s a great author. He’s done a beautiful job - Pat Buchanan: Which book? Donald Trump: His current book. Pat Buchanan: Bonfire of the Vanities. Donald Trump: Yes. And the man has done a very, very good job. And I really can’t hear with this earphone, by the way. https://buchanan.org/blog/buchanan-interviews-donald-trump-on-cnns-crossfire-1987-136960
В своей Нобелевской речи Бродский объяснял необходимость чтения беллетристики:
“Мне думается, что потенциального властителя наших судеб следовало бы спрашивать прежде всего не о том, как он представляет себе курс иностранной политики, а о том, как он относится к Стендалю, Диккенсу, Достоевскому. Хотя бы уже по одному тому, что насущным хлебом литературы является именно человеческое разнообразие и безобразие, она, литература, оказывается надежным противоядием от каких бы то ни было - известных и будущих - попыток тотального, массового подхода к решению проблем человеческого существования. Как система нравственного, по крайней мере, страхования, она куда более эффективна, нежели та или иная система верований или философская доктрина. Потому что не может быть законов, защищающих нас от самих себя, ни один уголовный кодекс не предусматривает наказаний за преступления против литературы. И среди преступлений этих наиболее тяжким является не цензурные ограничения и т. п., не предание книг костру. Существует преступление более тяжкое -- пренебрежение книгами, их не-чтение. За преступление это человек расплачивается всей своей жизнью: если же преступление это совершает нация - она платит за это своей историей.”
TAS: Do you see him as a New York original?
Wolfe: He is a lovable megalomaniac. People get a big kick out of going to his office and behind his desk is this wall of pictures of himself in the news. The childishness makes him seem honest.
Many people have pointed out that he doesn’t present policy programs. There is a great scene in one of George Bernard Shaw’s novels involving an old politician who is talking to his young assistant, and they are going over a speech that he is about to deliver. The young man says, “Sir, what you have said is all principles. There are no programs.” And the old politician says, “Ah, now you are catching on, now you are getting the idea.” That seems to be Trump’s approach.
If you go through our history, the strictly intellectual component of the presidency is not all that important. Just look at Reagan. He was a huge success. He was considered an idiot by half of the people in the political field.
I remember Henry Kissinger was at a university once, holding a seminar for ten students and he didn’t know that his remarks were being recorded. And he said something like, “You know, when you first meet Reagan and you spend a half hour with him, you leave saying, ‘Oh my God, how could the future of the free world be dependent on such a stupid guy?’” But then Kissinger said, “And yet every move he makes is right.” Kissinger was horribly embarrassed when that came out. The point is that decision making is not necessarily an intellectual talent.
One of the stories about Reagan that I remember is the time he went to Germany to speak before the Berlin Wall. It was at the time when the Berlin Wall was still a big factor. And so Reagan had a discussion with his advisers about whether or not he should say that the “wall should come down.” And they said, “Oh, don’t say that,” and then told him what he should say instead. But when Reagan gave the speech, he said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” and it was a real turning point in the Cold War. It was just Reagan’s gut reaction to the facts.
https://spectator.org/65918_tom-wolfes-view-trump/
В декабре 1987 Пэт Бьюкенен вёл передачу “Crossfire” на CNN. Между ним и Трампом произошёл забавный диалог о книжке Вульфа.
Here’s what happened when Trump was asked about his ‘favorite’ author pic.twitter.com/JtzNz9VfoR
- NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 18, 2019
Pat Buchanan: Who are your favorite authors?
Donald Trump: Well, I have a number favorite authors. I think Tom Wolfe is excellent.
Pat Buchanan: Did you read Vanity of the the Bonfires?
Donald Trump: I did not.
Tom Braden: What book are you reading now? [Crosstalk]
Donald Trump: I reading my own book again because I think it’s so fantastic Tom.
Pat Buchanan: What’s the best book you’ve read beside Art of the Deal?
Donald Trump: I really like Tom Wolfe last book. And I think he’s a great author. He’s done a beautiful job -
Pat Buchanan: Which book?
Donald Trump: His current book.
Pat Buchanan: Bonfire of the Vanities.
Donald Trump: Yes. And the man has done a very, very good job. And I really can’t hear with this earphone, by the way.
https://buchanan.org/blog/buchanan-interviews-donald-trump-on-cnns-crossfire-1987-136960
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“Мне думается, что потенциального властителя наших судеб следовало бы спрашивать прежде всего не о том, как он представляет себе курс иностранной политики, а о том, как он относится к Стендалю, Диккенсу, Достоевскому. Хотя бы уже по одному тому, что насущным хлебом литературы является именно человеческое разнообразие и безобразие, она, литература, оказывается надежным противоядием от каких бы то ни было - известных и будущих - попыток тотального, массового подхода к решению проблем человеческого существования.
Как система нравственного, по крайней мере, страхования, она куда более эффективна, нежели та или иная система верований или философская доктрина. Потому что не может быть законов, защищающих нас от самих себя, ни один уголовный кодекс не предусматривает наказаний за преступления против литературы. И среди преступлений этих наиболее тяжким является не цензурные ограничения и т. п., не предание книг костру. Существует преступление более тяжкое -- пренебрежение книгами, их не-чтение. За преступление это человек расплачивается всей своей жизнью: если же преступление это совершает нация - она платит за это своей историей.”
. @HillaryClinton tells NH questioner favorite book is Dostoevsky "Brothers Karamazov" (tell Putin!) #HillaryTODAY
- Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) October 5, 2015
По совпадению, любимой книгой Хиллари Клинтон, как и Лоры Буш, были «Братья Карамазовы» https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/books/review/hillary-rodham-clinton-by-the-book.html
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