He acknowledges, however, that politics could be an uphill battle. In a recent interview that sounds like an effort to reposition the outspoken former adman turned CNBC talk show host into a warmer and fuzzier kinda guy, he made his political aspirations public. Hmmmm....how easy is it gonna be to reposition someone who makes comments like "No one takes a dump like me" into a serious political candidate? Can he convince people that a classy remark like that is actually a positive ASSet?
...The truth is that when you actually spend some time with Deutsch, he is very likeable and — though it sounds saccharine — rather sweet. This is a guy who is as proud of his father’s artwork, which hangs prominently in his collection, as he is of his Andy Warhol painting (not surprisingly, an oversized dollar sign!). When he speaks of his father, who started David Deutsch Associates, which Deutsch eventually ran and sold, he sounds like a star-struck fan: “I am just the luckiest guy in the world. I have the kind of dad who is more proud of my success than he is of his own. He did the hard part…he built something from nothing, and I scaled it.” And though Deutsch can appear a tad sexist when he writes that not a day passes when he doesn’t fantasize about some woman at work, he also speaks lovingly of family values and his childhood growing up in Hollis Hills, Queens. “I grew up very modestly. Nobody talked about money but I grew up having the best of everything. My parents raised me where success was the currency, achievement was the currency — it was never about money,” says Deutsch, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1979....
Despite the trappings of success, you actually believe Deutsch when he says that he is no happier today than when he lived in Queens. While he certainly enjoys his wealth (“flying private is a nice luxury”), the reality is that Deutsch always thought big and had a zest for life. Whether he was creating ad campaigns (as he once did for Ikea and Monster.com) or exercising (as he now does feverishly), Deutsch does everything in hard-charging fashion. When asked what the future holds, Deutsch doesn’t miss a beat and says he may pursue political office. “The next natural step is to really give something back in a public-office kind of way…I’m interested in running for mayor.” He believes that he combines the business acumen of a Mike Bloomberg with the toughness of a Rudy Giuliani. Deutsch recognizes that politics could be an uphill battle (“Not that there is anything horrible [in my past], but I am a guy who has lived a very interesting life”) and, for now, is content enjoying the success of his television show—which CNBC just renewed for another three years. Although the public’s perception may never match the “Donny” he says friends and family love, he accepts that fact and even recognizes that he may be partially to blame. “The people who know me best know I am a very nice person,” says Deutsch. “I do stupid things sometimes and I make mistakes like we all do, and I think I carry myself with a certain air …[but] I have a good heart.”
Donny Deutsch: Advertising Guru, TV Talk Show Host…Mayor, Perhaps? - Manhattan Living Magazine
Did Donny Deutsch really say: "No one takes a dump like me"? - Wall Street Folly
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