People are flocking to social media over comments about Donald Trump made by Playboy readers back in 1997.
In 1997, Donald Trump was already around 51 years old, had acquired what is now known as the Trump Building and owned Miss Universe pageants.
However, it wasn't until 2000 when he first ran as a candidate for president and has gone on to make his mark on the political scene, from being charged with conspiring to defraud the US by trying to overturn the 2020 election result to being shot at.
Yet in 1997, some Playboy readers appeared to have Trump pretty sussed after he sat down for an interview with the outlet earlier in the year.
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A Reddit user called u/WiildCard took to the thread r/interestingasf**k to share a page from a Playboy issue from November 1997. They noted: "Lots of crazy foresight from the commenters about Trump."
Indeed, if you peer in closely, you can see feedback from Playboy readers about the Trump interview.
One reader named Robert Lee Hefter, from Wanamassa, New Jersey, said: "The Trump interview confirms my suspicions about the man: incredibly shallow, a master of self-delusion and out of touch with 99.9 percent of human reality. Turning inherited money, borrowed money and stolen money (a more honest term than tax abatements) into fast food for the eyes isn't success, it's malignancy.
"Here, stripped of buzz words, is how the economy operates for such types: We buy the chips and they gamble with them.
"If they win, they get to keep everything. If they lose, we pay them back. Simple."
Judith Shannon, from Boonton, New Jersey, added: "How can someone whose father made $20,000,000 and who grew up in a 23-room house say he's self-made?"
However, others had more positive attitudes to the interview.
"I enjoyed the Playboy Interview with Donald Trump in the March issue. His no-nonsense approach to life and business has earned my respect. I also thought it very special that Trump appears on your cover with one of my favorite Playmates, Brandi Brandt. And after careful consideration, I've reached the following conclusion: I would rather have Brandi's assets in my portfolio than Trump's holdings, substantial as they are," commented Roger C. Ukele, from Norton, Kansas.
While Al Bannowsky from Vernal, Utah, said: "Your Donald Trump interview changed me from a critic to a fan. Hell, if he ran for political office, I would vote for him. Maybe if he were in charge of the national budget, we might make some progress."
Another reader from Colorado praised Trump's ideas on the 'art of the deal' and said the interview gave them 'a shot of adrenaline'.
And it's not taken long for social media users to respond.
One Redditor user said: "So half of the letters to the editor saw Trump as an incompetent, spoiled con man, while the rest saw him as an inspirational business figure."
"You could tell which response would say which if you skipped to see what state they were from, too," another added.
A third commented: "'Turning inherited money, borrowed money and stolen money into fast food for the eyes isn't success, it’s malignancy.' Robert put it perfectly."
And a final user resolved: "Hefter, like Kyle Reese, you tried to warn the people."
Topics: Celebrity, Donald Trump, Politics, Reddit
Poppy Bilderbeck