Reporters in the “fake news” club like to say that president Trump doesn’t take advice from anyone and that, in the end, he calls his own shots.
This is not entirely true.
The fact is that president Trump does consult a trusted group of advisors to help him navigate the country back to greatness. But many keep a low profile.
While he may shoot from the hip on Twitter and in interviews and seems like a lone ranger, Trump does indeed take advice from a select group of people. He speaks regularly with members of the business community and the media establishment.
The key to understanding some of president Trump’s moves going forward is to look at whom he respects and listens to most.
We can see this play out after public statements.
Examples:
While Congress stalled and struggled in getting the president’s “travel ban” to pass, the Justice Department made changes and adjustments to make it constitutionally viable. This included softening the language of the bill so it could pass.
After which Trump tweeted out that the bill was now “a watered down, politically correct version,” which hilariously somewhat irritated the people involved in actually passing the bill.
When Comey was fired, Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer at the time in a press conference said that former FBI Director James Comey was let go because of his treatment of Hillary Clinton during the election and that Trump “acted based on the clear recommendations” of the attorney general and deputy attorney general.
But then in an interview with NBC, Trump told anchor Lester Holt that he was going to fire James Comey regardless of the recommendations because he was “a showboat.” No matter what your opinion of president Trump is — the fact that he would call someone else a showboat is simply hilarious.
So as you can see, Trump does take advice but ultimately makes the final decision.
With that said, let’s take a look at the men behind the curtain according to ‘outsiderclub.’
Richard LeFrak
Richard LeFrak is the CEO of LeFrak — a massive New York real estate development company. He has been friends with Trump for decades and is a trusted economic advisor to him. LeFrak is an honored guest at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and the president wrote glowingly about him in his book The Art of the Comeback.
His net worth is estimated at $6.5 billion, according to Forbes.
LeFrak has agreed to be part of the large infrastructure deal that Trump wants to roll out
Steven Roth
Steven Roth is a real estate investor and founder of Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO). He was one of Trump’s top economic advisors during his campaign. Roth owns two buildings with the president. His net worth is around $1.01 billion, according to Forbes.
He is also being consulted with about the president’s infrastructure package alongside LeFrak. When Trump put his economic advisors in place, he said that he was bringing together “very smart people that know how to spend money properly.” And these guys fit the bill.
Infrastructure is high on the president’s list of goals, and these two could help mold the deal. It’s a realistic goal that he could certainly get accomplished this year.
The pure infrastructure play on this is the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (NYSE: PAVE). It focuses on:
- Companies involved in the construction and engineering of infrastructure projects.
- The production of raw materials, composites, and products used in building infrastructure projects.
- Producers and distributors of heavy construction equipment.
- Companies engaged in the transportation of materials used in infrastructure projects.
It should do very well if these advisors can help push it through.
There are few other advisors who are part of a sector near and dear to Trump: casinos…
Phil Ruffin
You don’t get much closer to someone than being named the best man at his wedding. And this is exactly the role that Trump served for Phil Ruffin, the billionaire casino magnate. He owns the Treasure Island Resort & Casino and the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Obviously, Trump has a long and storied history with casinos. But Ruffin has more in common with Trump than just casinos. In the wedding where he served as best man, Ruffin married his third wife, Oleksandra Nikolayenkoa — a 26-year-old model and former Miss Ukraine.
Ruffin was ranked 814 on the Forbes “World’s Billionaire’s” list with a net worth of $2.6 billion.
Sheldon Adelson
Trump is also in regular contact with another casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson. Adelson owns the Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS). He was ranked as number 20 on the Forbes “World’s Billionaires” list with a whopping net worth of $35.9 billion.
He’s also the grand pooh-bah of Republican donors. He was the largest donor to Trump’s campaign, shelling out $25 million. He even gave another $5 million for the inauguration celebrations.
If you were to play the casino connection, I’d go with VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (NYSE: BJK). This fund approximates the S-Network Global Gaming Index.
Its major holdings are:
Las Vegas Sands Corp. — 7.88%
Sands China Ltd. — 7.64%
Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited — 7.31%
MGM Resorts International — 7.22%
Aristocrat Leisure Limited — 6.24%
Again, Sheldon Adelson owns the Las Vegas Sands.
For better or for worse, gambling is great business in good times and bad. BJK is the best ETF that lets you play the global casino market in one fell swoop.
It has 36.7% exposure in the U.S., 15.3% in Australia, and 11.5% in China.
The Media
Trump also has many connections in the media on whom he relies to keep his Twitter account locked and loaded in order to fight against the “fake news”…
Rupert Murdoch
Trump speaks on the phone with this media mogul every week, making him one of the most important voices in the White House who doesn’t actually work in the White House.
Christopher Ruddy
Ruddy is the CEO of Newsmax Media, which is among the most popular and influential right-wing news outlets.
He’s been called the “Trump Whisperer.”
Ruddy regularly appears on television to defend Trump and to give the public a unique look into what the president is thinking. He has also been spotted in the White House a number of times right before Trump makes a big statement or announcement.
He is also a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
These are just a few of the men behind the Trump administration’s curtain.
Once you begin to think about where president Trump is getting advice from, you’ll be far more prepared every time he makes a move that you never saw coming.
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