More than any human being that I have ever met, Trump has the ability to convince himself that what whatever he is saying , at any given moment - is true - or sort of true, or at least ought to be true. To him lying is second nature, just one more way to gain advantage.
Often the lies he told were about money - how much he paid for something, or what a building he owned was worth, or how much of his casinos were earning - even when they were on the brink of bankruptcy.
In the end I created a character in Trump far more winning than he actually is. I never found him winning, or especially intelligent, or particularly interesting. But he was undeniably an effective self-promoter, and that book went on to be a #1 best-seller around the world
What i did figure out - was how to transmute his voice, in ways that allowed him to come off not as cynical and one-dimensional (which he was) but rather to be kind of boyish and ingenious and even charming.
Over time i began to think of this man as a black hole. There was nothing to sustain him inside, so he looked entirely to the external world for nourishment. No amount of money or praise or attention - was ever enough. I never had any evidence that Trump had deep convictions or guiding core values.
His most abiding commitment and obsession and passion - was proving to others that he was winner...
Trump grew up with a brutal father and a mother with whom he seems to have had no relationship. It's oversimplifying to say that who he is is a product of having lacked love and care as a child, and that he spent his entire life looking for it in the external world - but it's also true.