Career con man and fraud Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump has been exposed as tax cheat and deadbeat in the bombshell New York Times article from yesterday. Other journalists are adding to the context of his tax write-offs and massive debt, and specifically how his debt is a national security threat. Here's longtime Trump watcher Tim O'Brien writing in today's Bloomberg.com:
"Trump has been bloviating about being worth $10 billion ever since he entered the 2016 presidential race, a figure that simply isn’t true. He’s worth a fraction of that amount, and the larger his indebtedness becomes, the more strain it puts on his assets. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a particularly brutal toll on the sectors in which the Trump Organization operates — real estate, travel and leisure. If Trump is unable to meet his debt payments, he’s either going to have to sell assets or get bailed out by a friend with funds. Trump has never liked to sell anything, even when it’s hemorrhaging money. So if he’s tempted to save himself by getting a handout, that makes him a mark.
If Trump was still just a reality TV oddity, that wouldn’t be earthshaking. But he’s president, and the trade-offs someone like him would be willing to make to save his face and his wallet taint every public policy decision he makes – including issues around national security. If Vladimir Putin, for example, can backchannel a loan or a handout to the president, how hard is Trump going to be on Russia?"
Indeed, and it's not just speculation for the upcoming hundreds of millions (at least) in debt that he's personally on the hook for: it's leverage that's likely been applied to him over the past few years, pre-and-post presidency by foreign lenders (Deutsche Bank, Russian oligarchs, Saudi sheiks, etc.).
We'd also recommend reading Dan Alexander's extensively researched piece in today's Forbes.com which suggests that Mango Mussolini's debt is upwards of $1.1 billion. Since U.S. financial institutions stopped loaning to him after his multiple bankruptcies, the $1.1 billion borrowed from foreign, shady sources makes him even more susceptible to foreign pressure and influence. In other words, a national security threat.
(photo: "Vlad, I'm a little low on cash this year....")
