Donald Trump owes money to Wall Street bankers like a delinquent drug addict, a testament to his mediocre at best “business” acumen. Now that he’s in office, what could those bankers possibly want in return?
This morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that the incoming President owes over $300 million to a staggering 150 different financial companies. Mr. Trump previously claimed in financial disclosure to owe $315 million to 10 banks. But as Trump’s debts made it onto the Wall Street butcher’s block, the ever-growing bills were parceled out and sold into accounts held by just about every major bank in the world.
Wouldn’t it be nice to refinance $315 million if interest rates were to fall? One might even score a better interest rate if the banks involved knew they would get favorable regulatory decisions. Mr. President?
Trump has already publicly promised — in May — to repeal the Democrats’ Dodd-Frank Act. That law, passed after the 2008 financial crisis, created regulations that restrict banks’ abilities to make predatory loans, charge certain types of fees, and to use the savings of the American people as glorified casino chips in their relentless efforts of the avaricious bankers to line their own pockets.
The debt has been used to build Trump’s conspicuous real estate properties, including hotels, resorts and golf courses, and is backed by some of his most prestigious properties, including the Fifth Avenue Trump Tower headquarters itself, The Journal reports.
Trump still has not announced promised plans to divest himself from his private business by the time he takes office. As The Journal so delicately points out, it’s hard to know exactly what is going on with Mr. Trump’s businesses, given that he has refused to release almost any substantive financial information about himself:
“That uncertainty—compounded by Mr. Trump’s decision to break with decades of precedent by declining to release his tax returns—makes it impossible to gauge the full extent of potential conflicts.”
The only time Mr. Trump has talked to reporters about anything since he was elected was last week, when he was standing next to a convicted murderer in front of his beachy Florida mansion, where he gave an incoherent ramble about how confusing computers are and how great his business is.
It’s as if the President-elect doesn’t want to talk about leaving his business, and all its complicated government entanglement, at all. Imagine that.
No comments:
Post a Comment