By Steve Rhodes
The New York Times has obtained the transcripts of Donald Trump’s 1040s from 1985 to 1994, and they only reinforce what those paying attention already know: As a financial whiz and supreme deal-maker, he’s a fraud who has spent his life playing with daddy’s money and mostly losing. He does, however, have the kind of big mouth and media manipulation skills that news and entertainment outlets have never been able to resist.
To wit:
“The numbers show that in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses – largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade.
“In fact, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer, The Times found when it compared his results with detailed information the IRS compiles on an annual sampling of high-income earners. His core business losses in 1990 and 1991 – more than $250 million each year – were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the IRS information for those years.
“Over all, Mr. Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years.”
The media’s role?
“As with many things Trump, his adventures in the stock market were more image than substance, helped greatly by news reports quoting anonymous sources said to have knowledge of Mr. Trump’s actions. An occasional quote from an associate – including his stockbroker, Alan C. Greenberg – helped burnish the myth.
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Posted on May 8, 2019
