There is a storm of political polls in the news these days. In most national polls, Biden leads by various amounts. However, when it comes to the economy, Trump consistently scores higher. People believe that Trump will be better for the economy because he is a successful ‘business man’.
This just goes to show the power of branding. Trump has cultivated this myth since he was a developer in Manhattan. The facts, if any of his acolytes would choose to believe them, simply do not support the image that has been cultivated. But the myth lingers on in spite of all of the evidence to the contrary.
Trump’s story about getting a ‘one million dollar’ loan from his father and then parlaying that into his billion-dollar empire is exactly that, a story. It is completely and provably false. The fact is, Trump got more like $400 million from his father who bailed him out of several failed business ventures. [My dad didn’t give me $400 million but, I’m not starving and I have his 2010 Ford Ranger pickup so it’s all good! RIP, Dad]
Trump filed for bankruptcy six times and had such a poor reputation and was viewed as such a risk that no United States banks would lend him money after a while. He ultimately turned to Deustche Bank for funding. Of course, Deutsche Bank, has had their own run-ins with the authorities regarding things like Russian money laundering.
The financial landscape is littered with failed Trump enterprises. The most visible were certainly his casinos in Atlantic City but there are many more. Trump University, The Trump Foundation, Trump wine, Trump vodka, Trump steaks, and something that most people have forgotten about, Trump airline (the Trump Shuttle).
I came across an article on Trump’s infamous foray into the airline business which I found particularly amusing. “Trump Airlines, which had the official name of Trump Shuttle, Inc., was an ill-fated venture that lasted from 1989 to 1992. Trump “bought” — and I put that in quotation marks because he didn’t pay for it himself, he arranged for a loan of $380 million from a consortium of 22 small banks to finance the transaction — a profitable division of the troubled Eastern Airlines with operations in the Northeastern United States.”1
The airline never made a profit and after a year and a half in operation the loans went into default. The only thing remaining of Trump’s airline is his ‘personal’ 757 jet that, prior to using Air Force One, was his mode of flight travel. So, Trump starts an airline, leaves a trail of 22 small banks with defaulted loans totaling $380 million and he flies off into the sunset with his personal 757 jet. Successful businessman my ass! The last line of this article made me laugh out loud. “So the next time the former reality show host mentions his so-called business success, remember that his idea of “success” — having his name scrawled on large phallic objects — is just the adult version of the same standard that middle-school boys worldwide aspire to.”1
He has never run a publicly held business where he has been accountable to a Board of Directors. He has run a family business where he is totally unaccountable to anyone and has engaged in all kinds of shady business practices. The Trump companies have been sued something like 3,500 times. Many of those suits are for non-payment of debts to contractors. His projects tend to leave a wake of stiffed contractors.
So how does this myth survive? How is it that this failed business man has been able to create this lasting image as some kind of business guru? It really is mindboggling.
I guess one just has to reflect on people like Bernie Madoff. Madoff was able to cultivate an image of this ultra-successful investor for years in the largest Ponzi scheme in United States history which defrauded investors of $65 billion. When the thing finally blew up, people who had trusted Madoff lost huge sums of money, sometimes their entire life savings.
In many respects, I think Donald Trump and Bernie Madoff have a lot in common. Just like Madoff wasn’t nearly as wealthy as he appeared, I’m sure that Donald Trump is not nearly as wealthy as he would like everyone to think he is. Bernie was a con artist who convinced people that he was an investment guru who could make them wealthy. Trump is a con artist who has convinced people that he is some business genius who knows best how to manage the US economy. The unfortunate reality is, neither of these men are what they represented themselves to be. Trump is no more of a successful businessman than Bernie Madoff was a successful investor.
I just wish people would wake up before it’s too late. In the case of Madoff, many people tragically lost their entire retirement funds. In the case of Trump, the consequences will be so much more costly.
Our country has always protected the wealthy. I can’t think of another country that has bankruptcy laws that allow the rich to screw their investors and walk away unscathed. Instead of our currency having on it “In God we Trust’ it should read “Greed is Good”.