Overcoming Addiction: Lessons from Family and Personal Experience

Donald Trump learned to avoid alcohol and drugs from his brother's struggles with addiction.

### The Impact of Addiction: Lessons from Family and Personal Recovery
* 🚫 "I never had a glass of alcohol because my brother, Fred, taught me **not to drink or smoke** due to his struggles with **addiction**."
* 👨 Fred Trump, who had a **charismatic personality** and was **admired greatly**, faced significant challenges with alcohol, which he **struggled with throughout his life**.
* 💔 The speaker reflects on how Fred's addiction served as a **cautionary tale**, emphasizing the **importance of avoiding drugs and alcohol** to prevent similar issues.
* 🗓 Currently, the speaker has been in recovery for over **two years**, attending meetings to maintain sobriety from both **alcohol and drugs**.
* 🔄 They share that the temptation to relapse is always present, as "it **sets off a chain**" of cravings that can quickly **spiral out of control**.
* ✈ One cherished memory includes flying with Fred, who was a **talented pilot**, showcasing the contrast between his skills and his **struggles with addiction**.
* 📖 The discussion highlights the broader theme of **learning from the experiences of others**, suggesting that **observing the consequences of addiction** can guide individuals to **make healthier choices**.
* 💪 Ultimately, the speaker expresses gratitude for the lessons learned from their brother, reinforcing that **avoiding substances has allowed them to lead a successful and fulfilling life**.

yeah yeah I noticed at the events you don't drink and you don't drink or smoke right. I don't drink or smoke. You never have? No, I never have. I've uh, I had a great uh brother who taught me a lesson. Don't drink, don't drink. And he said don't smoke. He smoked and he drank and he was a great guy. He was a handsome, very handsome guy. Is he older? He was older, older, quite a bit older, yeah. And uh, he would uh, he had a problem with alcohol and smoke a lot. But you know, I tell people no drugs, no drinking, no cigarettes. Yeah, I tell that to my kids all the time. I'd say no drugs, no drinking, no smok. And uh, that was tough. He had, well, he'd always tell me, he'd say never. So he was uh, you know, really old enough that you would look up to somebody. And I'd look up to him anyway. Did you admire him? Yeah, I I admired a lot, so much about him. He he had so much

going had the look uh he had an unbelievable personality like an incredible personality. What was his name? Donald? His name was Fred. Fred Trump. And he had a problem with alcohol. He got addicted to it because it's and you know they say alcohol is tougher than drugs to get off of. I've I don't know if you've ever heard that. I was I'm in recovery actually. I've been in I've been in recovery so like most of the last 10 years from alcohol from drugs and alcohol. Drugs which which is worse for me. Drugs is the problem but if I have a drink then I it's tougher for me to prevent V myself from getting it. It sets off a chain yeah but is which is harder to quit. I've heard alcohol is harder to quit than drugs if that makes sense. I don't know. Oh yeah I mean I can only imagine because it's probably more readily available more readily well and it's social and you're sitting and everyone's drinking and all yeah you go

to a dinner, and everybody's eating like, you know, Xanaxes or something, you know, for appetizers. Usually, people are having like a mint, you know, a mint Julep or something a little fancier, Negroni. I just learned about, right? Um, but yeah, so you have a problem with that then, yeah. Oh wow, I've had, it's been in my family, my family. It's like, um, yeah, can you stay away from it? Yeah, I've done a good job. I mean, I, so how long have you been off? I go to recovery meetings. I've been off most recently two, a little over two years. Do you ever go back on? Yeah, I've had stints where I go back on and um, and you don't control it. Uh, it's tough. It gets, it goes downhill pretty quick, kidding. So you, you think it's going to be easy, you think you're controlling it, and then you're damn, yeah, you're doing your go-kart and racing with hook just not to do it, right? Right, so then in

the end. You're like, I have to not do it. Did you see, like, with your brother? Did you, could you see it or anything? Like, Yeah, man, I was amazed because he had so much going, he had everything going. I think he probably, it happened in college at a fraternity maybe, or I don't know, somewhere along the line it happened. And all of a sudden, you know, this is not unique, this is a very common story unfortunately, but uh, and then the family would see it and start to notice it, and uh, it didn't get better, it didn't get better. I was amazed, you know, he lived uh, for so long in bad conditions, you know, in terms of, I was amazed that his body could hold out. It held out and it had bad moments and but his body was unbelievably strong, that it could, that it could withstand this. It's a body is so resilient. Do you remember the last time that you saw him or spent with him? I do and uh, I'm sorry to ask you about

it yeah know it's well you know the reason it's good talking about it is it might help other people if it helps one other person it's worth a conversation for we talked about that stuff a lot on our on our podcast yeah a lot of our audience uh struggles or has struggled with um alcoholism addiction intimacy disorders all types of stuff you know so it's like a it's pretty kind of normal conversation but um you know the interesting thing is and I tell people so I never had a cigarette and I've never had a glass of alcohol and my brother was incredible he would tell me because he knew he had a problem and it say don't ever drink don't ever smoke he'd always add smoking because he did smoke a lot which is you know not very healthy but he'd say don't ever drink don't ever drink he'd tell me every time I said don't ever drink because he knew he had this yeah addiction and I never had a glass of alcohol never ever did I

have a glass of alcohol because to him, and I would say that if I did drink, I could, you know, conceivably be the type of personality that would have, yeah, like you, that would have a problem, but I never had. And the only thing I say to people is if too late for the people that you're talking about, but if you don't drink, you don't miss it. I mean, I don't even think about alcohol or it's not a part of your world. I don't think about cigarettes. I don't think about any of that. If you don't take drugs or if you don't have alcohol, it's real easy not to drink it. It's one. I had a friend who went to the Wharton School of Finance with me. He was a very smart guy. Where is it? Wharton School? That's in Philadelphia. That's at Penn. Oh yeah, Rocky, right? And it's a great, great school, great business school, and it's part of the University of Pennsylvania, the business school. Nice down there, yeah.

my friend's brother went there or something. Well then he was smart because it's a great school and um but this this person that I met he hated the taste of scotch. Hated it. Couldn't stand it but he insisted on having it because he wanted he felt it was important to be able to drink. I said no just don't drink. He said you know to be successful in business you have to sort of interact and you have to drink and I said don't do it anyway. He became an unbelievable alcoholic. Uncontrollable alcoholic. Oh I thought best yeah and he died. He was a you know he but he hated the taste of scotch and he still did and they couldn't live without it literally. Well I think I noticed a lot of like in the recovery rooms and stuff it's a lot of people that have they're missing something inside of them and so they they take on like you know they want to try and fill it up with something else um yeah. Do you remember the last time that you spent with your brother? I do.

and he'd have periods where he'd get sick, very sick, and we thought we'd lose him, or we lost him, then he got better, and that happened five or six times. I mean, where you thought you lost him, and then he got better, and it was amazing. I mean, he was in a certain way very strong in that sense, and I just tell people, It's so tragic, don't drink, just don't drink. Yeah, and you're not going to have a problem. Like, even you, if you didn't drink, you would never, but you probably maybe wouldn't be successful like you are, you know? It's part of your story. It's helped me a lot. Yeah, yeah, 'cause I don't know what would happen, probably. I think it's just too risky. Um, it is RIS. What's something that you miss about him or like that? Yeah, like, what's something that you miss about him, Brad? Well, he was wise in a sense. I mean, think of it. He's got this problem, and it was very important for him to convey to me not to

have this problem, and I couldn't have been successful if I had that problem. Yeah, if I had that problem, and I think maybe I'm a personality type where I could have had the problem if I drank, but if you don't drink, you're never going to have it. I mean, I don't miss when I see somebody light up a cigarette and just there in heaven. I don't miss that at all. It's weird. It's so n. It's very Native American too. Is it crazy, bizarre? And you know, I think sometimes our older brothers, they kind of like, they take the speed bumps for us like as younger brothers so that we don't have to, you know what I'm saying? Does that, you know what I'm talking about? My brother went through a lot of stuff so that I didn't have to go through it, and then I get to see him and learn. Is he okay now? Yeah, he's doing great now. Yeah, he's doing great now, but it's just, it's like, yeah, that's one of the blessings I think of

having an older brother is canar through history too. Whether even if it's not a brother, it's by watching other people. I mean, you can see if you have a friend who's an alcoholic or even just by reading about people. You can learn, oh yeah, it doesn't necessarily have to be a brother, but in this case, it was very personal. It was a brother, and I learned not to drink, and I learned not to smoke cigarettes. Now, I don't know that I would have smoked cigarettes. I probably would have drank, I think. You know, there's no reason not to drink, but I had a reason because he told me, you know, just that was it. Don't do it. Yeah, yeah, that was kind of a blessing then, huh? Yeah, and where did you, did they, um, did you guys ever do anything fun together? Like one nice memory that you have with him. Um, he had a great talent for flying. He was a pilot. Oh, sweet. And he loved it. And did you ever fly with him? Uh, I did. I flow with him. He was a

great pilot and very talented. Other pilots would come to his house to study with him, watch him fly, and he was really talented. But ultimately, he had to give that up because of the alcohol. He had to give that up, which was a hard thing for him to do, but he had to give that up. Yeah, thank you for your time. I can't believe that I got to be able to sit down with you. I'm grateful to Dana White as well for setting this up. And um, yeah, I just appreciate you giving me your time today, Donald Trump. And good luck with your situation. You're going to do it. You beat it, right? You beat it. Good luck with it. Thank you, brother. Thank you very much for

Theo and Donald Trump Talk About Addiction and Sobriety

Theo Von Clips

The speaker has never drunk or smoked, influenced by their older brother, Fred Trump, who struggled with alcohol addiction.

The speaker admires Fred's personality and looks, but has also faced their own battles with addiction, leading to over two years in recovery.

They discuss the challenges of staying away from substances and the social pressure that makes it difficult to control drinking.

The Impact of Addiction: A Personal Story

The speaker reflects on their brother's struggle with addiction, which began in college and had a lasting impact on the family.

Despite living in bad conditions, the brother's body showed remarkable resilience.

The speaker, who has never engaged in smoking or drinking, was advised by their brother to avoid these habits due to his own struggles with addiction.

The speaker reflects on their decision not to drink alcohol, noting that it has never been a part of their world.

They share a story about a smart friend from the Wharton School who hated scotch but felt pressured to drink, ultimately becoming an uncontrollable alcoholic and dying from it.

The speaker observes that many people in recovery are trying to fill a void within themselves, leading to substance abuse.

The speaker's brother faced severe health issues multiple times, leading to a deep appreciation for his strength and resilience.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of not drinking to avoid similar problems, suggesting that their brother's struggles were a crucial part of their own success.

The speaker reflects on the role of older siblings in taking on challenges, ultimately leading to personal growth and learning for the younger sibling.

Having an older brother can provide valuable life lessons, such as the importance of avoiding alcohol and smoking.

The brother's talent for flying and being a great pilot created memorable moments together.

However, the brother ultimately had to give up flying due to his struggle with alcohol.