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So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?

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So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by WinterBurn   » Sun Mar 12, 2017 11:58 am

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Not trying to be controversial, but it may end up that way, my apologies in advance if this is a repeat topic.

I'm re-reading "On Basilisk Station" and I noticed certain parallels, especially in that both regard themselves as self-made men despite a more-than-merely-affluent background. Among other things.

<shrug>

Off topic, it's amazing how hard these books grab me, even after multiple re-reads.
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by Eagleeye   » Sun Mar 12, 2017 1:29 pm

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WinterBurn wrote:Not trying to be controversial, but it may end up that way, my apologies in advance if this is a repeat topic.

I'm re-reading "On Basilisk Station" and I noticed certain parallels, especially in that both regard themselves as self-made men despite a more-than-merely-affluent background. Among other things.

<shrug>

Off topic, it's amazing how hard these books grab me, even after multiple re-reads.


I think, any similiarities are 1st) purely coincidental and 2nd) only superficial. I admit, Klaus Hauptmann acted like a whole herd of panicked bulls in a china shop during his visit of HMS Fearless - and I think it is possible or even probable that Donald Trump would act in a similar way given the same or a similar situation - but somehow I doubt that Mr. Trump (in difference to Mr. Hauptmann) would be able to ... rethink his relationship to anyone he decided to dislike or even hate wholeheartedly.

The reason? Both men are of a similar age, but Mr. Trump does not have a similiar timeframe to do any rethinking and reevaluating regarding his opinions. After all, there is no Prolong-Therapy available in our reality ;) And even if he had the time, he is much too stubborn; much more so than Klaus Hauptmann seems to be - but even Mr. Hauptmann needed a decade or so (and a shocking confrontation with his daughter) to start the rethinking process.
Last edited by Eagleeye on Sun Mar 12, 2017 1:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by Torlek   » Sun Mar 12, 2017 1:31 pm

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1. I don't see the similarity
2. OBS was published in 1994 before Donny was a household name.
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by cthia   » Sun Mar 12, 2017 1:47 pm

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Not a chance. Donald Trump's net worth should be significantly higher than what it is. He simply isn't as savvy an investor or able to make his money work for him anywhere near as well as Klaus Hauptman. And their business sense should represent the main focus of the comparison.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by Weird Harold   » Sun Mar 12, 2017 1:47 pm

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WinterBurn wrote:I'm re-reading "On Basilisk Station" and I noticed certain parallels, especially in that both regard themselves as self-made men despite a more-than-merely-affluent background. Among other things.


I think you'll find more correlation with Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, or Carnegie than with any late 20th century billionaire.
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by Henry Brown   » Sun Mar 12, 2017 3:36 pm

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Weird Harold wrote:I think you'll find more correlation with Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, or Carnegie than with any late 20th century billionaire.


Agree 100% I was about to make a similar comment but you beat me to it.
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by Annachie   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 4:05 am

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I was thinking similar to Harold actually.
A little more 19th & early 20th century industrialist than modern.



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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by Sharidann   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:20 am

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Torlek wrote:1. I don't see the similarity
2. OBS was published in 1994 before Donny was a household name.


The Donald was already portraited in Gremlins 2, which came out 1990... Albeit I agree, not with the degree of fame he managed to acquire in the last couple of years.

I rather see Hauptman as someone like Carnegie, or Henry Ford, i.e. an industralist from the 19th / 20th century...
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by WinterBurn   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:29 am

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I see and somewhat agree with the arguments against (as there are many possible archetypal tycoons with similar character to Hauptman), but I still think it's possible he served as a partial model.

It was pretty uncanny reading parts of the description of Klaus Hauptman in "On Basilisk Station", and while I DO agree that most likely his full character had not shown itself to the world when the book was written and it's unlikely that Hauptman was fully modelled after Trump... I present the following:

"Klaus Hauptman, who could have bought or sold a dozen dukedoms, still chose to regard himself—publicly, at least—as the champion of the "little man." It didn't prevent him from cementing business alliances with the aristocracy, nor from enjoying the power and luxury of his merchant prince status or becoming deeply involved in Manticoran politics, but his "commoner heritage" was fundamental to his fierce, prideful self-image. He regarded himself as a self-made man and the descendant of self-made men, despite the wealth to which he had been born.
And that image of himself was what had brought him here today, Honor told herself, for she'd hurt it. She'd caught him, or his employees, at least, dabbling in illegal trade, and to a man of his pride and self-aware importance that constituted a direct attack upon him, no mere business reverse or legal embarrassment"

As for whether he was well known at the time...The Donald WAS a household name prior to publication. The Art of the Deal was Published in 1987. By 1990 his troubled personal life had splashed all over the tabloids, with subsequent coverage of his divorce and relationship with Marla Maples in the mainstream press. I distinctly remember that despite my almost complete indifference for that sort of thing - it was inescapable at the time.

If he's NOT the model... maybe it should be retconned in. ;)
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Re: So was Klaus Hauptman modelled after the Donald?
Post by George J. Smith   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 10:21 am

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Maybe The Donald is a secret Honorverse fan and he has re-modelled himself on Klaus Hauptman :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
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