Trump says today’s stars aren’t what they used to be as he launches book of celebrity letters

Former President Donald Trump launched a book of letters he received from world stars lamenting the golden age of theater and film on Tuesday night.

Letters to Trump features messages from presidents, politicians and Hollywood superstars such as Kirk Douglas, golf legend Arnold Palmer, music star Michael Jackson and Princess Diana and Oprah Winfrey.

At a time when anyone with a social media account can become an online influencer or when appearing on a reality show is a ticket to stardom, this makes for a nostalgic look at a time when celebrity meant much more.

“In recent years, Hollywood has been much more glamorous,” Trump told DailyMail.com.

“It meant something to be a star. Today, some have risen to stardom with little talent and a lot of fame.

“It’s just not the same, but a star is still a star!”

His new book was published Tuesday and includes a thank you note from the Spartacus star

As an illustration, he pays tribute to Spartacus star Douglas in his book.

Kirk was a real Hollywood movie star and a good friend.

“He loved his family very much, including Michael, whom he respected immensely as an actor and loved as a son.

“He had a rugged and distinctive look – there were few male stars like him. A real legend.’

Douglas died in 2020. In his 1988 note, he comes across as a proud father, expressing his son’s success and thanking the Trumps for their hospitality.

“By the way, my son Michael won the Golden Globe Award for best performance in ‘Wall Street.’

He’s on his way to Tokyo now. Maybe we’ll all get together for an evening one of these days.’

It was a far cry from the lifelong Democrat’s open letter to Trump in 2016, when he compared some of the Republican’s rhetoric about immigrants to the rise of Hitler nearly a century earlier.

Trump said Douglas (pictured here in one of his best-known roles as Spartacus in the Oscar-winning 1960 film) was a “true legend of Hollywood.”

Douglas in Stanley Kubrick’s 1958 film Paths of Glory

Other superstars in the book include pop artist Michael Jackson

“I also lived through the horrors of a Great Depression and two world wars, the second of which was started by a man who promised to restore his country to its former greatness,” he wrote.

“I was 16 when that man came to power in 1933. Nearly a decade before his rise, he was laughed at – not taken seriously. He was seen as a buffoon who couldn’t possibly mislead an educated, civilized populace with his nationalistic, hateful rhetoric.

The book was published by Publishing Winning Team, founded by Donald Trump Jr and Sergio Gor, on Tuesday.

“From President Richard Nixon to Princess Diana, and from Hillary Clinton to President Kim Jong-un, no book provides such a glimpse into history as Letters to Trump,” the book’s website reads.

It costs $99, although fans can get a signed copy for $399.

In 2002, Hillary Clinton sent a heartfelt letter to Donald Trump thanking him for his “friendship and support.” There was little evidence of that in their ugly 2016 election for the White House

Donald Trump poses for a photo with Hillary Clinton in happier times. Trump was with his sons Don Jr. (far left) and Eric during a visit to the White House in 1996

The two were mortal enemies by the time they each secured their party’s nomination for president in 2016, sparking a bitter contest complete with heated TV debate clashes

In addition to letters from before Trump came into office, the book also contains correspondence during his time in the White House. It includes letters from leaders such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, as well as Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader.

Other letters featured in the book come from Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 Democratic rival; former Governor of New York Mario Cuomo; television host Jay Leno; and President Richard Nixon.

Clinton’s 2002 letter is a reminder of how the two 2016 candidates once moved in the same circles in New York before becoming bitter opponents.

In it, she thanks the then New York real estate magnate for his “friendship and support” and a “generous contribution” to her Senate campaign.

What can I say about Hillary Clinton? I’ve had a great relationship with both Bill and Hillary for a long time,” Trump wrote in a comment alongside the letter, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

‘Who could have known it would turn out like this? I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Hillary. After the elections she was the angriest woman in the world.’