It’s strange how a single word can rip the dust sheet off an old memory – something half-forgotten, tucked away for years. Nearly a decade ago, I read Richard Branson’s unsettling 2016 account of a lunch with Donald Trump in the 1990s. Over the meal, Trump allegedly vowed to take revenge on five people who had refused to help him after his bankruptcy. The story stuck with me, and revisiting it now reveals an unflinching portrait of a man who treats grudges not as fleeting feelings, but as a lifelong mission. It is a snapshot worth sharing.
In the heat of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, British billionaire Richard Branson dropped a bombshell that painted a stark portrait of Donald Trump’s character. In a blog post published on October 20, 2016, on his Virgin Group’s website, Branson recounted a bizarre one-on-one lunch meeting with Trump in Manhattan from the 1990s. According to Branson, the encounter – initiated by an invitation from Trump – lasted about two hours, during which Trump fixated solely on his plans for revenge:
“Even before the starters arrived,” Branson wrote, “he began telling me about how he had asked a number of people for help after his latest bankruptcy and how five of them were unwilling to help. He told me he was going to spend the rest of his life destroying these five people.”
Branson described the conversation as “very bizarre” and advised Trump against letting vengeance consume him, suggesting it would “do more damage to him than them.” He left the lunch “disturbed and saddened,” expressing concern over Trump’s “vindictive streak” and its potential dangers if he ascended to the presidency. To contrast, Branson highlighted a separate meeting with Hillary Clinton, where discussions centred on global issues such as education reform, the war on drugs, women’s rights, and international conflicts – topics he argued a world leader should prioritise over personal grudges.
The story quickly made waves in the media. Politico reported on it as evidence of Trump’s focus on “destroying” those who crossed him, while The Sun and MSNBC echoed Branson’s account in interviews where he reiterated the details. Fact-checking site Snopes investigated the claim in 2020, confirming that Branson did indeed make the statement in his blog and subsequent TV appearances, such as a 2017 CNBC interview. Snopes noted alignment with Trump’s own 1992 comments on Charlie Rose, where he admitted, “I love getting even with people who are disloyal.” However, as the lunch was private, Snopes emphasised that the specifics couldn’t be independently verified beyond Branson’s word.
Trump, for his part, never publicly denied the story outright in the sources reviewed. Instead, tensions between the two moguls escalated in other ways. In 2017, Branson published a scathing 2004 letter from Trump, mocking Branson’s airline and reality TV ventures, which some saw as petty retaliation – though it predated the lunch revelation. Branson has referenced the lunch multiple times since, including in his 2017 autobiography Finding My Virginity, where he doubled down on Trump’s obsession with destruction.
Fast-forward to 2025, and the anecdote came to mind, sparking a reflection on Trump’s leadership style. For instance, in February 2025, social media users on X (formerly Twitter) linked it to reports of “mass firings” under Trump, framing it as a pattern of vindictiveness. Critics argue it exemplifies a leader more focused on personal scores than policy, while supporters might dismiss it as an unproven smear from a rival billionaire. Regardless, the story endures as a cautionary tale about power, grudges, and the human cost of unchecked revenge.
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As so many of his public sackings of people he appointed show, Trump is a petty and vindictive bully. It is not important to know who the ‘five’ were, just that he is alleged to have threatened them. It is no wonder so many people are frightened to actually tell Trump the truth and it confirms that our PM is wise to be cautious in any interactions with Trump. Any move to cut back our military ties with the US ( something which I and many other commentators both recommend and support) would potentially raise Trump’s ire and given his actions in Washington could potentially lead him to some form of ill-judged retaliation. I am not suggesting an invasion but some other form of action against us ( others might have ideas what this might be) would be highly likely. He already thinks countries like us are bludging off the US, clearly not understanding that America for decades has followed a policy of tying allies into its web of implicit threat against its two perceived enemies, Russia and China. As is abundantly clear and has been made specific, China is not Australia’s enemy and indeed cannot be envisaged as our enemy. Certainly we have differences but they are minor in the scheme of things. The warmongers in the Government (Marles etc.) the Opposition and the Murdoch media empire do Australia no favours by promoting China as a potential threat and laughably so when they put timeframes like ‘three years’ on that claimed threat. I think most Australians have a more benign view of China while recognising we prefer our form of Government to theirs.
People rarely comment on Murdoch’s record over time, but he is a vicious dill. Cunning, wilful, energetic, pustular, but not clever and positive. Murdoch is social and political amoebic dysentery, sickening, sinful, a grub in the world’s guts.
Trump’s vindictiveness and desire to punish calls to mind the following brilliant quote by Nietzsche:
“But thus I counsel you, my friends: Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. They are people of a low sort and stock; the hangmen and the bloodhound look out of their faces. Mistrust all who talk much of their justice! Verily, their souls lack more than honey. And when they call themselves the good and the just, do not forget that they would be pharisees, if only they had – power. (Friedrich Nietzsche)”
Vain, venal, vindictive and inept. But in just six months the orange idiot has made Fascism great again!
I Think Donald Trump Is on the same level as Jim Jones, Anton LaVey, David Koresh, Alexandrian Wicca, Charles Manson, Alex Sanders, Shoko Asahara, Baron Samedi, Marshall Applewhite, Guede Nibo, David Berg, Grigori Rasputin, Warren Jeffs,