Keep Smiling Sucker
D. S. Mitchell
I started writing the Calamity Politics blog to present the urgent political news of the day. I take pride in presenting current and meaningful issues in the hope of connecting with people that have similar political leanings. There is also a bit of silliness, now and then.
I want to be a supportive voice of the “Resistance”. I, like so many others this political season have become unbelievably energized by the election of Donald Trump. He defines everything I don’t want in a man; much less a president. I have never previously been ashamed of a U.S. president, but knowing that Donald Trump is the “face of America,” truly sickens me.
I am sure we can defeat this megalomaniac and his science rejecting policies and his Fossil Fuel Agenda. None of us can do it alone. We need to bind together. It is together that we can keep the heat on these thugs and hoodlums; by our sheer numbers. Whether by impeachment, implementation of Amendment 25, or some other means Donald J. Trump will be removed from office before the end of his term. That conviction keeps me writing, talking and networking every day. I hope all my readers make that their mission also.
Donald Trump is one of the biggest phonies in U.S. history and he is now President of the United States and I’m worried that he will make as big a mess out of the United States government as he did his own personal finances.
Donald Trump began working for his father’s real estate company in 1972 after graduating from the Wharton School of Business with a degree in Economics. From the beginning Donald was better at self-promoting than actually making any money. It is estimated that when Fred Trump, Sr died in 1999 Donald Trump inherited something in the neighborhood of 100-200 million dollars.
According to the Associated Press, if Donald Trump had done nothing more than place his inheritance into index funds his net worth today would exceed 13 Billion dollars. Estimates project his current net worth is far from that dazzling amount. So, after all the ballyhoo and boasting he is rich because he was born rich. He could have been stratospherically wealthy if he had done nothing. Funny, in a peculiar way.
Trump is an example of arrogance and recklessness unmatched. He is a man whose primary talent is keeping his name in front of the public, for good or ill. In fact, he is the architect of the bad deal. His history is one of failed contracts, bankruptcies, regulatory fines, government investigations, fraud and deception.
In 2007 under oath, Trump testified that his representations regarding his wealth were based “on psychology” and “my own feelings”. According to Donald, “you don’t tell people if you are doing bad, you always tell them you are doing good.”
It is known that in 2007 Trump “puffed his net worth” when applying for a loan with Deutsche Bank, claiming his worth to be 3.5 billion. After review, the bank estimated his true net worth to be closer to 788 million. Deutsche Bank turned down the loan application until Trump offered a personal guarantee of 40 million dollars. Trump would later default on that 40 million dollar guarantee.
Remember Trump telling his supporters what a great job he would do as President of the United States because he was “a successful businessman”. He boasted endlessly about how he had made his money “the old fashioned way-I worked for it”. This claim of course is without merit. Almost all of his best known successes are attributable to family ties or money given to him by his father.
Trump’s lies have had a big impact on many people’s lives. He has screwed and shafted nearly everyone who ever believed his boastful rhetoric. Now this man is in charge of the government and the budget, because he convinced enough voters in the right states, “of his great business abilities” and his “ability to get things done”.
Trump has had a couple successes, but overall “most of his ventures have been complete disasters,” claimed Kurt Eichenwald in a 2016 article for Newsweek. In fact, some described Trump as a “lousy businessman”.
One of Donald’s early adventures in Manhattan was to back a failed Broadway production. He was known around New York as a crass and obnoxious self promoter from Queens. He appeared to be living the life of a successful developer while in fact his personal finances were a mess. In 1978 he lost no less that 1/2 million dollars. In 1979 his personal loses exceeded 3.5 million. In 1980 Fred Trump stepped up and lent Donald 7.5 million dollars to help his son stay afloat.
Donald was always churning the water, making deals, mostly bad ones. In 1988 after a contentious relationship with Harrah’s Corporation Trump and Harrah’s parted ways, leaving Trump as owner of an Atlantic City, N.J. casino.
By the end of 1988 Trump had leveraged himself into three major casinos after he convinced the N.J. gaming commission he was able to succeed even while competing with himself for gamblers.
Trump was up to his indebted ass in a business he knew nothing about. But, it was glamorous and he could show off, and look the big shot. Before the ink was dry on the final casino deal Trump decided to get into another business he knew nothing about.
In 1989 Trump bought the Northeastern air shuttle from the faltering Eastern Airlines. Trump immediately began attacking his competitors, primarily Pan Am, accusing Pan Am of flying “unsafe” planes.
Trump spent at least a million dollars per plane, putting gold fixtures and fancy upholstery and enhanced seating space to provide a luxurious flying experience. Because he knew nothing about the market or the business he was now running the shuttle began hemorrhaging money. Apparently customers on a one hour flight from Washington to New York wanted reliability and competitive pricing, not gold faucets.
The shuttle business never turned a profit. Trump had put the deal together with a 22 bank syndicate for a loan amounting to 380 million dollars. In 1990 the loans were defaulted and a long series of complex negotiations sold off the airline. Finally in 1992 the Trump shuttle was dissolved by creditors.
In October of 1989 three of Trump’s casino executives died in a helicopter crash. With the death of his three top executives Trump took over day to day operations in Atlantic City. According to Eichenwald, “his mercurial and belligerent style made a quick impact-top executives walked-unwilling to tolerate his eccentricities while Trump booted the others.”
In 1990 Trump began to badmouth the dead executives blaming them for his business problems. Everyone in N.J. was aware that it was Trump’s precarious debt laden business structure that Trump had created that was the essence of the problem. At the same time N.J. regulators reported Trump was at least 3.4 billion in debt, and they believed he was potentially within months of default.
In real danger of total collapse Donald again went to his father and asked for a loan in the amount of close to 3.50 million dollars. The elder Trump surreptitiously and with an unreported loan tried to run money through the gambling tables without actually gambling. When the impropriety was caught by N.J. regulators Trump was fined $65,000.
Within one year of opening the Taj Mahal all three of Trump’s 3 casinos were in bankruptcy court. In 2004 Trump resigned as CEO and filed bankruptcy. Corporate name change and reorganization resulted. In 2009 another bankruptcy separated Trump from the casino business. His shenanigans in N.J. hurt a lot of people.
Trump’s history of corporate failures is sizeable. In 2008 he defaulted on a 640 million dollar construction loan for a Trump Hotel in Chicago. Deutsche bank and another lender suffered losses due to his default.
Just after the Chicago fiasco Trump involved himself in a 62 story construction project in Dubai when the dust settled he walked away again.
In 2006 Trump backed off on the construction end of real estate, and began selling his name or “brand”. His branding led to many crazy product lines. During this time Donald Trump slapped his name on anything but the park bench, praying people would buy a product solely on the fact that the Trump name was stuck to it, in one fashion or another.
In 2006 he previewed Trump Vodka and Trump & Tonic. Poor sales closed that operation after less than two years. Next came Trump steaks, and that too died a quick death. Then there was Trump University. With this scam Trump promised students he would teach them his real estate secrets. Multiple students sued and he settled for 25,000,000 after the 2016 election.
In 2010 a Trump Hollywood ocean front condo project was foreclosed on. He distanced himself from the development claiming name licensure only.
In Baja Mexico he put his name to a 525 unit luxury development. By 2009, 32 million dollars in deposits had been spent and there was only a hole in the ground. Despite all the ballyhoo and pre-sale hoopla Trump walked away claiming he was not the developer despite marketing materials that seemed to indicate the contrary.
Over and over again this man has mismanaged his own money, defaulted on loans that cost investors large sums of money. He did the same in a Ft. Lauderdale construction project. Then there was the Trump Tower, Tampa in 2005. Millions of dollars were collected for the pre-sale, with Trump representing himself as the contractor. When the deal went into free-fall Trump claimed “no responsibility” in the fraud, he had just licensed his name, again.
In fact, the arrogant prick claimed the buyers were better off to have just lost their deposits, because they dodged the collapse of the real estate market.
Remember this is the man the American people have chosen as President of the United States. This callous loser has defrauded more Americans than he has ever helped. I am sure that his past behavior is an ominous predictor of his future behavior.
With his new power Trump seems intent to enrich himself through the office of the Presidency and I don’t see any inclination by the Republican congress to check his activities. So, dear reader it is up to us. We must not let a day pass as long as he is in the White House, that we do not protest him in one manner or another.
Join the Resistance
Dar
