A former associate said of the couple, “She was always the one with the personality, the one with a much stronger presence. He was a pretty quiet, soft-spoken, nice guy, and there was a certain formless quality to him.”
I saw a headline on WaPo recently (but didn't read it) about how DC is hard for the Trumps because money isn't as respected as power, intelligence, connections, the ability to get shit done, etc. It's a different way of evaluating "importance." Being the richest man in the room is no longer the most important thing. I can't find the article now though....
Truth the power game is totally different in DC. It's about who you know and who is going to listen to you. Trump is so busy being a showman and pissing people off (McCain, McConnell, etc) that he isn't gathering the connections and allies he needs to make things happen.
He still thinks he is in the boardroom as CEO where he tells someone to jump and they ask how high.
He doesn't get the subtle power game of having the allies to not have to ask yourself but just have the right person suggest that jumping is a good idea,
I can hear a mouthbreather now-"He's so REAL! Not a politician at all. He doesn't play their games!"