Trump was not a politician who could parse factions of support and opprobrium; he was a salesman who needed to make a sale.
“I won. I am the winner. I am not the loser,” he repeated, incredulously, like a mantra.
Bannon described Trump as a simple machine.
The On switch was full of flattery, the Off switch full of calumny.
The flattery was dripping, slavish, cast in ultimate superlatives, and entirely disconnected from reality: so-and-so was the best, the most incredible, the ne plus ultra, the eternal.
The calumny was angry, bitter, resentful, ever a casting out and closing of the iron door.
This was the nature of Trump’s particular salesmanship. His strategic belief was that there was no reason not to heap excessive puffery on a prospect.
But if the prospect was ruled out as a buyer, there was no reason not to heap scorn and lawsuits on him or her. After all, if they don’t respond to sucking up, they might respond to piling on.
Bannon felt—perhaps with overconfidence—that Trump could be easily switched on and off.
'Fire and Fury' by Michael Wolff
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078GSYDZ2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_xcJuAbJ5BGWH1