Donald Trump once revealed that he was so annoyed with his 2nd grade music teacher that he punched him and gave him a black eye. Years later, he commented further on it, but what did he say exactly? Why did he punch him, and is it actually true?
Back in 1987, Trump published the book Trump: The Art of the Deal with writer Tony Schwartz, who has since called authoring the book the greatest regret of his life. The book was a bestseller, selling over a million copies in its first several months and solidifying Trump’s reputation for being happily boastful.
At one point in the book — which can be best described as part business advice and part memoir — Trump mentions his aggressive behavior as a child, claiming, “In the second grade, I actually gave a teacher a black eye.” He explains that the teacher he punched was his music teacher and that he “almost got expelled.” The bizarre claim is difficult to picture, because it means that a 7-year-old gave a grown adult a black eye with one perfect punch. (If true, perhaps Trump should have considered a boxing career. Maybe Rocky would be better, because they only act like they’re boxing.)
Trump added, “I’m not proud of that but it’s clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a forceful way. The difference now is that I like to use my brain instead of my fists.” The below video tells a different story.
While it’s welcome news that newly convicted felon Trump allegedly uses his brain now instead of his fists, some might contend that he doesn’t use his brain, either. For example, he should have adopted his stand-up mentality when Mel Hall — later a convicted pedophile — lived in Trump Tower. The list goes on, but what of the second grade teacher he allegedly punched?
Did Trump actually punch his 2nd grade teacher?
In a stroke of humorous genius, The Washington Post once tracked down Trump’s 2nd grade music teacher, Charles Walker, who they learned had sadly passed away. However, his family said that although Walker did speak about Trump, he never mentioned being punched by him. The Post also spoke to Trump’s childhood friend and classmate Donald Kass and asked him about the alleged incident. Kass claims that he does not recall it actually happening, but did ask Walker himself about it at a 2009 class reunion. He claims that Walker told him that Trump never struck him. However, Walker did say that Trump was not a good student and that he was not fond of him at all, explaining that Donald was the type of kid who always needed attention at all times. Clearly some things never change.
Trump himself has backtracked on the claim, motivated by being labeled as someone who promotes violence. When his childhood punching spree was brought up, he changed his tune, stating, “When I say ‘punch,’ when you’re that age, nobody punches very hard. But I was very rambunctious in school.’” It might be the first time Trump basically admitted to exaggerating something.
All things considered, it seems highly unlikely that Trump actually punched his teacher, but the best part of Trump’s original claim might be the reason why he says he punched the teacher. In The Art of the Deal, he simply says that he punched his second grade music teacher “because I didn’t think he knew anything about music.” Sounds about right. And naturally, after admitting how much he likes to punch people, Trump has also found himself on the receiving end of similar desires ⏤ Robert De Niro being but one example.