Donald Trump’s most enduring — and unbefitting — trait - Allan Sloan

[FSogol]

I’ve been covering Donald Trump off and on for more than 25 years, and what has always struck me is his lack of impulse control. It was his biggest problem when I first started dealing with him in the 1980s, and it’s his biggest problem now.

Plenty of financial and real estate players got carried away in the go-go 1980s. But Trump was in a class by himself.

He ended up presiding over six — count ’em, six — bankruptcies because he kept making business decisions with his gut rather than with his brain.

Trump’s less-than-stellar business history has been well documented by The Washington Post and other newspapers, magazines and online publications, as has his lack of self-control in his personal life. But what has not been fully explored is the impulsiveness — actually, total recklessness — that was at the root of the pivotal decisions that tanked his businesses.That same impulsiveness is at the root of Trump’s self-inflicted political and business problems today.

Whole article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/donald-trumps-most-enduring--and-unbefitting--trait/2016/07/15/f5684848-488b-11e6-acbc-4d4870a079da_story.html

[PJMcK]

1. Excellent article

Thanks for posting this great historical insight into Donald Trump's business life, FSogol. It's chock-full of in-depth information about his failures as a businessman.

As I read Allan Sloan's article, this passage regarding Mr. Trump's unwillingness to release his tax returns jumped out:

First, we ought to see whether Trump’s income, holdings and taxes incurred (if any) are consistent with his claim of having a net worth in excess of $10 billion.

Second, we ought to see his charitable contributions, which he claims are “generous.”

The third — and not obvious — reason involves something called Section 469 of the U.S. tax code. Rental real estate, a Trump specialty, typically throws off tax losses­ for its owners.

But Section 469 forbids taxpayers from using these losses to offset other income unless more than half their business activities (at least 750 hours a year) involve developing or managing real estate. Not licensing their name to golf courses or making speeches­ or being on TV reality shows.

Having watched the Trump Phenomenon since the 1980's, it's been clear that he has skated the edges of the law throughout his business and personal lives. It's possible that he has violated numerous tax laws and the fraud suit against him regarding Trump University is unlikely to go in his favor. His recklessness, which Mr. Solan writes about, has always been on public display and his arrogance has been paramount to his image.

To see him lose the presidency will not only be marvelous schadenfreude, but it could very well be the beginning of the end of Donald Trump.

[NewJeffCT]

3. Yes

definitely a great read. Trump is really a loser through and through who was lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

[PatSeg]

5. There is no way the man is worth $10 billion

I seriously doubt he even comes close to $1 billion. He lies so much, he may actually believe he is a billionaire though.

From all I read about him, I'd say "reckless" is an apt adjective. I would also like to see the end of Donald Trump as a public figure. He plays the media like a violin and they deserve a lot of the blame for this disaster.

[PJMcK]

6. The media's responsibility

You make an excellent point, PatSeg. The media has a huge responsibility in the elevation of Donald Trump.

The problem, however, is that generally, the media doesn't care about the long-term effects of their programming, whether it's news, entertainment or some bastardly brewed combination. They care about quarterly profits and obviously Mr. Trump has been tremendously successful for them from this perspective. Their attitude right now is probably, "November 8th is in the next quarter. Worry about it then."

I also agree with you that Donald Trump is not a billionaire. I'm sure he's wealthy but he's been leveraged since the 1980's so I doubt that he has the actual net worth of $1 billion.

ETA: It doesn't matter how much he's worth since he's still an idiot.

[PatSeg]

7. When I think back over the years

all Trump had to do to get free publicity was say something outrageous or call someone a "pig". If you give a toddler attention every time he acts out, he'll just keep doing it.

Yes, he is "still an idiot" and nothing will ever change that.

[FSogol]

10. Yeah, he is really pressing his luck. n/t

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

2. Impulsiveness is not a good trait for a president. n/t

[yurbud]

4. that's how you end up nuking an ally

[Moostache]

8. His motto should be "Fake it, Don't ever make it."

The thing that bothers me the most is that he lives a billionaire lifestyle - penthouses, mansions, private jets and now secret service protection - basically on the taxpayer dole. He is the ultimate example of a "taker" - to borrow GOP-lingo for a moment.

Fraudsters like him are everything wrong with the American system and yet 40% of the people in this country are going to vote to put an ill-tempered, mis-informed cretin in charge of the most powerful arsenal in the history of humanity. What could possibly go wrong?

[Martin Eden]

9. He's a spoiled brat too lazy to do his homework, and ...

... too full of himself to think he needs to.