The bombshell New York Times investigative report portrays Donald Trump as a man deeply in debt, who squandered the nearly $400 Million he made from the TV show the Apprentice, to shore up a number of failing businesses. The times story said Trump scooped up the cash he made from the TV show and went on a hotel and golf course buying spree. All of the properties began to lose money. CNN is reporting that Trump’s financial woes were the main reason he ran for President; that by 2015, more than a decade removed from the smashing success of “The Apprentice,” Trump’s brand — always his most marketable and valuable commodity — was foundering, his golf courses were losing loads of money and he had nine-figure loans coming due. The New York Times that reveals Trump paid $750 in taxes in 2016 — and no taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years.)
According to CNN Trump had flirted with the idea of running for office and had backed away; but his situation was different in 2015. He was no longer riding high financially or otherwise. He was seen less as a business titan and A-list celebrity — and much more as a cultural curiosity, a sort of has-been throwback to the 1980s. Flirting with a run for president wasn’t enough; he needed to go further this time as a way to restart a flagging brand.
Prior to the Times stories, there had been media speculation that Trump was heavily in debt, possibly to Russian interests who funnelled the money to Trump through Deutsche Bank. The New York Times says Trump has loans of hundreds of millions of dollars that are coming due soon. The Times says today’s revelations are only the first in what will be a series of articles that will unfold in coming days with the Presidential election now only 37 days away. Trump and his opponent Joe Biden will stage their first televised debate tomorrow night from Cleveland.
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