Look out! Donald Trump promises to run the country the way he runs his business
DONALD TRUMP promises to run the country the way he has run his businesses. Recent reporting on Mr. Trumps financial dealings makes that promise sound more like a threat.
Mr. Trump refuses to release much of the documentation that would shed light on the business background he says qualifies him to lead the nation including, most glaringly, his tax returns. So it has been up to members of the media to piece together the puzzle of the candidates business record. Post reporter Drew Harwell and the New York Times Russ Buettner and Charles V. Bagli are the latest to shine some light on that record.
The emerging picture is an ugly one. In Atlantic City, Mr. Trumps casinos failed even when the rest of the town continued to thrive. Along the way, Mr.?Trump used company money to pay off personally guaranteed loans, and after the 1995 creation of the public company Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts publicly traded funds to bail out privately held casinos. The company has filed for bankruptcy five times.
Mr. Trump is running for president on the platform that he is an extraordinary executive. Because most of his business empire is privately held, the public must look to Trump Casinos and Resorts to evaluate these claims to competency. So far, they seem about as solid as Mr. Trumps reputation as a borrower. Additional characterizations of Mr. Trump as an imperial CEO ignoring and even firing advisers who disagreed with him deflate arguments such as that of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who says that Mr.?Trump would defer to his White House counsel, or to other members of his staff and Cabinet.
More by the Washington Post editorial board at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-trumps-business-dealings/2016/07/17/843ab114-3194-11e6-95c0-2a6873031302_story.html