Trump is Broke: Has He Already Sold Out America To Get the Money He Needs?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Back in the day, Donald Trump's niece alleges, he stole hundreds of millions of dollars from his father's estate, screwing his other family members and the IRS (you and me).He then went on a massive spending binge, pouring that money into airlines, steaks, vodka, Trump-branded games, casinos, a fake university, etc. Virtually all of them failed, and he experienced multiple bankruptcies.
Just at the time Donald was most wiped out and maybe even facing the possibility of homelessness, NBC rescued him with the Apprentice program. That paid him a few hundred million dollars more, which he used, along with massive loans, to buy some more hotels, including the one in Washington, DC.
But now those new hotels and golf courses aren't doing so well, either, because he is such an incompetent businessman and because the virus is hurting the hotel business. As a result, in the next few years he's going to have to pay off hundreds of millions of dollars in loans that he personally guaranteed at a time when his hotel properties around the world are generating virtually no revenue.
In other words, for the second time in his life, Donald Trump is almost certainly broke or on the verge of being broke.
When his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, hit that wall last year, he was able to hop on a US government plane and go to the Middle East, where dictators and fossil fuel billionaires who wanted the Trump administration to sell them advanced weaponry handed him over $1 billion over the objections of Congress.
We still don't know how Trump and Kushner compromised American security and sold us out in exchange for that billion dollars for Jared, although historians will probably figure it out over the next decade.
Now Trump is going to have to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars and the question is: which dictator is he going to borrow it from, and what part of American policy or American assets is he willing to sell off, betray or destroy to get it?
-Thom
Comments
#2
“People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy a half slug who must tighten his belt.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
#3
Legend, to answer your question it is because few who have been conned will admit that they were taken. They keep hoping for a miracle. I think that in a way it's like being in an abusive relationship. Those voting for Trump may often be people who are happy that at least someone who seems big and powerful is recognizing them, and that makes them feel better than being ignored. This is doubly true if their idol then proclaims that they are better than another group who they can blame for all their problems and feelings of being marginalized. It's an old, old story that still works.
#4
Twenty-two thousand lies didn't do it.
Two-hundred thousand dead didn't do it.
Neither did: squandering undeserved tax breaks on the moneyed class while stiffing the little "disgusting people" and sinking the U.S. three trillion deeper into unnecessary debt; calling military heroes "suckers and losers;" colluding extensively with Russia to get elected in 2016; embarrassing America in the eyes of our once most trusted geopolitical friends and allies and, more ominously, in the eyes of our enemies; betraying erstwhile comrades on the battlefield in Syria to appease a fellow autocrat in Turkey who is holding the strings to the Trump Org.'s financial interests and Trump-branded towers in Istanbul; attempting to corrupt Ukraine's newly elected, reform politician by withholding vital military aid to this very important ally fighting a live shooting war against Russian incursion, all to cheat his way to re-election; obstructing justice at every turn both before and after his cheat-to-win election (the second part of the Mueller report being just the tip of the iceberg); violating the Emoluments clause daily; directing beaucoup taxpayer bucks to his own properties that he visits routinely; dismantling the social safety net; undoing environmental safety regulations; dismantling food safety regulations; deregulating his rapacious buddies on Wall Street while screwing labor unions, ergo, workers' families; hiring industry lobbyists from the "swamp" to corrupt the federal agencies monitoring those same industries; kidnapping little kids from parents and families, caging them in cold cells, and then purposely losing their records; illegally placing travel bans on whole religions and nations due to extreme xenophobia, religious bigotry, and overt racism; criminally mismanaging a deadly pandemic, causing hundreds of thousands of needless American deaths, because of a crass and horribly misguided political calculation, and for personal profit; using the pandemic to ram through a wingnut agenda; orchestrating a pogrom of potentially lethal violence against peaceful protesters protected by the First Amendment; engaing in systematic election interference, election fraud, and voter suppression (no need to further source what's already plastered all over the news leading up to the most critical election E-V-E-R); and whatever the fck else that even the most tenacious investigative journalists couldn't possibly think of off the top of their heads -- all the rot that slips down the memory hole.
Nope, none of that broke through the thick battle ramparts of "the Base," Trump's Al-Qaeda. So, is there any reason to think that the latest disclosure of his massive, decades-long tax-dodging schemes (c'mon, something everyone already suspected was true anyway) will change any minds? Hahahahaha!!!
Though you'd think that somewhere in those dim, barely conscious corners of self-reflection the average blind Trump zealots just can't help but ponder the gross injustice of it all, as they get soaked paying taxes on the sweat of their brows, backstopping the taxes that Trump and Sons and Daughter and the top one percent continually evade through "enhanced" deductions available only to themselves, never mind huge infusions of Russian laundered money to keep the Trump train on the rails. Brilliant! Sheer genius I tells ya!
"Playing down" a raging pandemic? Over 200, 000 needless deaths and a ruined economy? Even Susan Collins might find that a little more than "concerning." But gotta help McConnell get all those winger judges through in record time. Gotta have priorities.
#5
How Biden could win the debate in about the first 3 minutes!
One of the Trump campaign’s favorite slogans is, “Promises made, Promises kept.” Biden could easily turn that against Trump by using his time at the first of the debate and saying, “if Trump’s slogan is “Promises made, Promises kept.” “Then Trump must have promised to be, by far, most inept world leader to deal with the worst pandemic since 1918.” “ Promise kept!”
“Trump must have promised to have over 7 million Americans infected with the Covid-19 virus.” “Promise kept!”
“Trump must have promised during his watch the over 200,000 Americans would die from a novel virus.” “Promise kept!”
“Trump must have promised that during his term, 40 million Americans would lose their jobs.” “Promise kept!”
“Trump must have promised that unemployment would about triple.” “Promise kept!”
“Trump must have promised the national debt would increase by 6 trillion dollars.” “Promise kept!”
“Trump must have promised to have the most corrupt campaign staff resulting in numerous indictments.” “Promise kept.”
“Trump must have promised to lie to the American people over 22,000 times.” “Promise kept!”
Anyway, you probably get the idea. Memorize a long list of everything wrong with Trump and phrase it as a “Promise made and Promise kept. “Then watch Trump’s head explode.
Another thing Biden should consider is telling the audience (us) that every time he hears Trump lie, he will simply lift his index finger over his head. That too would probably make Trump’s head explode.
#6
An excellent strategy! Mary Trump says that addressing him as "Donald" will also get under his skin.
#7
You know that person who cannot resist a bright shiny object and runs their credit card to the max because of it, that's Donald J. Trump. He sees something he wants, convinces someone to lend him the money and proceeds to ruin it just like everything he touches. Dark Towers explains his relationship with Deutsche Bank who loaned him hundreds of millions. Several books talk about his money laundering through real estate deals with Russians and crooks. What he has not inherited, borrowed, or obtained through illegal deals has come from screwing some poor schmuck that he hired. But, every dog has his day. The investigations have been proceeding despite his attempt to stop them. He took no questions today; he looked a bit down-trodden. All I have to say about this mangy dog is RUFF!
The worse he is, the better his base-base likes him. They want to be him. No moral compass, no empathy, and living a lie does not offend them. They want to be him. Using everyone and throwing them under the bus when someone has to go is logical to them. They want to be him.
#8
Another bit of advice to Biden. In response to Trump trying to make a big deal out of Hunter Binden, Joe should remind everyone that even though Trump only paid $750.00 in taxes, he didn’t hesitate to spend millions of taxpayers dollars, months of time and valuable government resources at a time of national crisis, only to come up with the word “problematic” as the result of all this trouble and expense.
#9
Thom - please! I hope you read this message! I just found your video from a year ago in which you posit that Trump abandoned the Kurds with his sudden and controversial withdrawal of troops from northern Syria for a hotel in Turkey! I also read in the New Yorker that he made his decision right after a phone conversation with Erdoğan. Please revisit this! The release of his tax returns spotlights money he received from Turkey!! You were onto something monumental!! Did Trump sell out the Kurds for a business arrangement??
#10
Gee, why is our favorite COVID-45 supporter not posting the non-stop defence BS of his master?
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom is a national treasure. Read him, embrace him, learn from him, and follow him as we all work for social change."
From Screwed:
"I think many of us recognize that for all but the wealthiest, life in America is getting increasingly hard. Screwed explores why, showing how this is no accidental process, but rather the product of conscious political choices, choices we can change with enough courage and commitment. Like all of Thom’s great work, it helps show us the way forward."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience."
I could understand supporting Trump after a few major liabilaties. But we are way past that. We have most of his ex staff against him. Most of the military. We are over 22000 lies. He is a train wreck everyday. Please explain how you can keep supporting Trump.