Shutterstock
Before being elected president, thanks to so many variables outside his basic fitness for the office—the Comey letter, racism, the flawed Clinton candidacy, Russian interference, and the infuriatingly unshakable image of success from his role on a TV reality show—Donald Trump was a simple New York City real estate developer. In that profession, he made many enemies. One of those enemies was fellow NYC real estate developer Douglas Durst, who has been responsible for the new World Trade Center and the Bank of America Tower among other high profile real estate ventures. Over the years, ever-sensitive to competition, Trump has taken to social media to insult Durst.
Why is Douglas Durst allowed to use the World Trade Center to get out of a lease with Conde Nast?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2013
Durst is a disaster at operating the new World Trade Center. It takes forever for workers or visitors to get in with impossible security.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2014
People are really unhappy with the endless security checks at the new World Trade Center. Durst is a terrible manager. Tenants furious!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2014
In comparison with what he has tweeted as president, most of these Durst digs are fairly banal insider comments about real estate. Other times they are…uh…decidedly not.
Personally, I think Douglas Durst's brother got screwed by Douglas–no wonder he's angry.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2013
Douglas Durst’s brother, eh? Who could that be? Lest you have forgotten, he is the infamous criminal and suspected serial killer Robert Durst, who reemerged as a person of note with the 2015 HBO true crime series The Jinx. The series recounted the many deaths Durst has been linked to but never convicted of, including one in 2001, when Robert Durst was tried in Texas for the murder of his elderly neighbor. Prosecutors alleged that he killed him, chopped up the body, and tossed it into Galveston Bay. He was acquitted of the murder charge but pled guilty to chopping up the body.
The brothers Durst are a study in contrasts. Douglas, a rather low-key, New York billionaire developer, and Robert, a clever, psychopath who successfully avoided facing the consequences of his actions until he literally admitted guilt on HBO. They are not fans of each other. Donald Trump’s preference appears to have been for Robert, who is currently incarcerated in California awaiting trial in an unrelated murder.
But a week after Attorney General Bob Barr told Congress that the president would not face obstruction of justice charges, Douglas Durst took to Twitter to point out a crucial distinction between his brother and the president.
My brother Robert was acquitted of the underlying crime (homicide), but was convicted of obstruction of justice…and the world is safer for it.
— douglas durst (@douglas19011461) March 28, 2019
Robert Durst’s next murder trial is scheduled to begin in September. Twitter remains free.
(h/t Maggie Haberman)
