"You can always tell when the king is here," Mr. Trump's longtime butler here, Anthony Senecal, said of the master of the house and Republican presidential candidate.According to the NYT, all the help had to learn that, when He emerged from His lair each morning—
...
Mr. Senecal knows how to stroke his ego and lift his spirits, like the time years ago he received an urgent warning from Mr. Trump's soon-to-land plane that the mogul was in a sour mood. Mr. Senecal quickly hired a bugler to play "Hail to the Chief" as Mr. Trump stepped out of his limousine to enter Mar-a-Lago.
"If the cap was white ... the boss was in a good mood. If it was red, it was best to stay away."Clever Sister adds, "isn't red his main color of his make amurica great caps?"
The Butler seems to have had a flair for politics:
"In 1990, Mr. Senecal took a sabbatical to become the mayor of a town in West Virginia, where he gained some notoriety for a proposal requiring all panhandlers to carry begging permits. He said that Mr. Trump wrote to him, 'This is so great, Tony.'CS also sends this, from 2004. Senecal's stint as mayor of Martinsburg, WV, may have been brief, but it was abundant in dubious publicity.
"The Apprentice" could never top "The Mayor of Martinsburg."Well, judging from the NYT interview, who wouldn't be eager to serve such inspiring figures as Senecal describes—
One is a reality show. The other was a wild ride.
Tony Senecal, a one-time power broker of sorts as the mayor of Martinsburg, has been watching the hit show from an inside perspective. He's "The Butler."
For 11 years, Senecal has been Trump's personal butler at Trump's palatial Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
Senecal, 72, also had a bit part on the April 1 episode of "The Apprentice," escorting two contestants and their relatives on a tour of Mar-a-Lago.
In real life, Senecal has a pat line for anyone puzzled by his transition from governing a city to, say, serving mimosas: "Once you've been a public servant, you can be a private one."
Over the decades, he has grown close to the Trump family. He recalled how Mr. Trump's father, Fred C. Trump, once stepped out of his limo on the club's gravel driveway and remarked to Mr. Senecal, "Somebody better get that coin." The butler went on his hands and knees and after a few minutes found a crusty penny.
"His eyes were incredible," Mr. Senecal said of Fred Trump. "Mr. Trump has the same eyes."
