Trump Grifts

Obama Secretary of Treasury Robert Reich details Trump's business failures. His financial salvation came in a 14-year televised reality show, in which he supposedly mentored then fired aspiring businessmen and women following a script provided by others. His visibility allowed Trump to move from risky borrowing , buying, building, and escaping debts by declaring bankruptcy to licensing his name to others. Late night host John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel have fun listing the overt ways in which Trump parlayed his populist popularity into profitable schemes to separate mostly middle and working class Americans from their assets. All too representative of these scams was the sale of "Trump Trading Cards" featuring an impossibly trim Trump as an astronaut, a fireman, a Rambo-like freedom fighter among dozens of other unlikely occupations. After paying $100 per card, the buyer received not an actual card but an internet address where he or she could look at the image. A similar scam sold "meme coins" with Donald's and Melania's images. The coins had no inherent value but were bought by those hoping their value would rise, and they initially did, reaching over $70 shortly after their debut. By March of 2025. however, the coins were available on the open market for $11. While Trump and his family made millions from the racket, almost a million of his fans lost money on the deal. (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-meme-coin-2-billion-ls-1235261422/). These hustles (among others) took place during Trump's campaign for the Presidency in the summer and fall of 2024. However, they were unrelated to his hopes of returning to office as the proceeds went directly into his and his family's pockets. Even after winning the election, several of the Sources: Robert Reich: “How Trump Killed Every Business He Touched” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbh9SW5Cgqg); CNN: “Trump Declares Himself a Very Stable Genius”; John Oliver: “Last Week Tonight”; CBS: “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”; ABC: “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; CNN: “Trump off the Rails”; NBC: “Trump Crypto Play”; ABC: “Trump Selling Meme Coin”.