Donald Trump has had a lot of mentors, from his real estate mogul father Fred Trump to Joe McCarthy’s and Richard Nixon’s hardball lawyer Roy Cohn. Trump has done his share of mentoring too, and not just with Ivanka and Don, Jr. And not just on Celebrity Apprentice, either. During the 1980s heyday of heavyweight champ Iron Mike Tyson, Trump and Tyson were business partners. Tyson did a lot of his fighting at Trump’s Atlantic City venues — and the older Trump often acted like a father figure and protector for Tyson who, despite being the best fighter on the planet, needed the help. (That both declared multiple bankruptcies is just coincidental.)
But Trump’s pugnacious, pugilistic run for the presidency seems to indicate that the Trump-Tyson influence runs both ways. Trump either did or didn’t invite Tyson to speak at the Republican National Convention — reports have it both ways. But Trump has definitely taken Mike Tyson’s most salient bit of wisdom with him into his political life. Tyson once said of his opponents: “Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face.” Considering the Republican primary process and debates with this in mind, it’s hard to ignore Tyson’s influence.
Iron Mike Tyson was not asked to speak at the Convention though I’m sure he would do a good job if he was. The media makes everything up!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2016
