Chapter 18

1Around then the disciples came to Trump with a question. “Sir, who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Easy one. Me. Next question. But they wanted to know who was number two.

2Trump waved a little kid over and stood him right in the middle of them. Beautiful kid. Great genes. Probably a future model.

3And he said, “You want to know who's great? Look at this kid. No filter. Says whatever he wants. Totally honest. I'm like that. People love it. Some people hate it, but they're losers.

4Number two? Right now this kid's number two. You know why? He's not asking for a promotion. You've been asking me for promotions for three years. Every day.

5And be nice to kids. Kids are future voters. You get them young, they're yours forever. Very loyal.

6But anybody who messes with my people—anybody—it'd be better for him to get a big rock tied around his neck and get thrown in the ocean. And that's the nice version.

7The world's full of people who want to take you down. Haters. Losers. It's going to happen. But they'll pay. Believe me. They always pay.

8And if somebody on your team is dragging you down, cut him. Get rid of him. A small team that wins beats a big team full of losers. I've fired a lot of people. Best thing I ever did.

9Even if he's a friend. Even if he's family. Cut him. Very tough. You have to be tough.

10But don't look down on the little guys. The forgotten men and women. They're my people. And they've got friends in very high places. The highest.

11The Son of Man came to save what was lost. Lost people, lost causes, lost elections that weren't really lost. All of it.

12Here's a business lesson. A guy owns a hundred apartments, and one tenant stops paying. Does he let it go? No. He goes after it. Every unit is an asset. You never write off an asset.

13And when he gets that one back, it's the best feeling in the world. Better than the ninety-nine that paid on time. Like getting a property back from the bank.

14My Father's the same way. Never lets a single unit go. Great landlord. Very hands-on.

15If somebody does you wrong, hit back. Harder. Ten times harder. Go right at him. If he backs down, great. You won. I love a win.

16If he won't back down, get witnesses. Get lawyers. Get it in writing. Always get it in writing.

17And if he still won't back down, go public. Total exposure. Tell everybody. Then he's out. Blocked. Unfollowed. Done.

18Whatever you lock down here gets locked up there, and whatever you open down here gets opened up there. Ironclad. Better than a prenup.

19And if two of you down here agree on something and ask for it, my Father will do it. Two votes. That's all it takes. Much easier than the Senate.

20Because wherever two or three people get together in my name, I'm there. And when it's twenty thousand in an arena? Even better. Much better. The energy is incredible.”

21Then Peter came up. “Sir, how many times do I have to forgive somebody who does me wrong? Seven times? That's a lot, right?” Seven! Peter thought that was generous. I forgive nobody seven times.

22Trump said, “Forgive? Peter, I don't forgive. I remember. Some people forgive and forget. I never forget. Ever. Let me tell you a story.

23There was a guy—great guy, I thought—and he was in trouble. Big trouble. He owed the banks a fortune.

24Ten thousand bags of gold. That's bankruptcy territory. Believe me, I know bankruptcy. Very successful bankruptcies.

25And he comes to me. He says, 'Please, I'm going to lose everything. The house, the boat, everything.'

26He gets on his knees. Literally on his knees. 'Help me, Sir. I'll never forget it. I'll be loyal forever. Forever.'

27So I help him. I make one call, and the debt goes away. Big favor. Huge favor. A very big, beautiful bailout.

28And what does he do? Two weeks later he goes on TV and trashes me. Trashes me! Then he writes a book. Very bad book. Nobody read it.

29He says he 'had concerns.' Concerns! He didn't have concerns when he was on his knees.

30Total traitor. Worse than a Pharisee. Worse than a RINO.

31And everybody saw it. The whole staff. They came and told me everything. Leakers, but good leakers this time. Sometimes the leakers are right. Not often.

32So I called him in, and I said, 'I did you the biggest favor of your life.

33And this is how you pay me back? A book?' Very reasonable. I was very reasonable.

34Then I took it all back. Every penny. Plus interest. You're fired! And then some.

35And my Father works the same way. You're loyal, he's loyal. You're not, you're done.” So forgive, folks. Some of the time. Loyalty first. Always loyalty first.