A report from Reuters this morning looks at unhinged demagogue and lying sociopath Donald "Loser" Trump's four years in office and how they have severely damaged his "brand," a brand that he had guarded fiercely through lawsuits and endless braggadocio. Famous for licensing his name to put on buildings and properties he didn't build, Trump borrowed to keep his real estate empire afloat, including potential money laundering (see the Scotland case). When his real estate ventures went belly-up, he hid behind bankruptcy laws, which is why domestic lenders shut him out. Here's some of Reuters reporting:
"Trump’s business brand was once synonymous with wealth and success, an image that now clashes sharply with a political brand rooted in the anger of his largely rural and working-class voter base. His presidency is now associated in the minds of many with its violent end, as supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Those searing images, along with years of bitter rhetoric, are costing Trump money. Revenues from some of his high-end properties have declined, vacancies in office buildings have increased, and his lenders are warning that the company’s revenues may not be sufficient to cover his debt payments, according to Trump’s financial disclosures as president, Trump Organization records filed with government agencies, and reports from companies that track real-estate company finances.
Prospective tenants in New York are shunning his buildings, one real-estate broker said, to avoid being associated with Trump. Organizers of golf tournaments have pulled events from his courses." (our emphasis)
Trump's habitual problem with lenders explains why he's raising cash by teasing a run at the Presidency, and setting up new scams to fleece his dangerously gullible cult (e.g., "Truth Social"), in order to generate funds for himself.
Despite the Trump family's lies to the contrary, revenue losses from their real estate have been major:
"Financial records show Trump’s real-estate business has declined. Income from the family’s holdings, heavy on golf courses and hotels, took a beating during 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Revenues at his Las Vegas hotel, for instance, fell from $22.9 million in 2017 to $9.2 million during 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021, according to Trump’s financial disclosures."
Trump's personal toxicity and his fascistic politics are making him increasingly a pariah not only in the U.S., but more significantly around the world, as his declining real estate fortunes show.
