Maybe I’m being overly optimistic here, but I have a feeling that Donald Trump’s quest to come up with half a billion dollars to appeal his conviction in New York is full of pitfalls.
Trump was never as rich as he said he was. In fact, maybe the most honest thing he ever said about his business acumen was that he was the “king of debt.” Depending on where you read it, he has declared bankruptcy either six or seven times, and the list of his businesses that no longer exist is a long one.
Trump Vodka, Trump Steaks, the Trump Shuttle, Trump University and plenty of others.
Most people would agree with owning casinos is like being able to print your own money, but Trump bankrupted casinos.
Judgements against him in two massive lawsuits in New York State put him in a position where he has to come up with more than half a billion dollars in order to be allowed to appeal them, He managed to get a bond for the smaller one — about $85 million — but his chances of finding money for the bigger one aren’t good at all.
He’s got at least four possible ways of coming up with the money.
First and probably the least likely is getting his Trumpanzees to give him the money.
The cartoon above pretty well sums up the problem there. The people who love him the most have the least to give, and in many cases, Trump is battling the televangelists for those disposable dollars. They’ll give, but if they could come up with 10 percent of what he needs it would be a surprise.
Second would be selling or mortgaging properties, but the problem here is twofold. First is that his deadline is three days away and two of those days are on the weekend. Second is that he owns a lot less than people think.
Third is finally finding a company that will put up the bond. It’s tough to imagine that one because of the massive amount of money involved.
The fourth and final option is the one most likely to happen but also the one with the biggest risk for Trump. It’s possible he could get the money from foreign sources, most likely from Russia. This won’t hurt him with the ‘zees. They will forgive him anything. Satan could send demons up from hell with the money and his base would cheer.
But Satan — or Putin — funneling the money to Trump would hurt him with voters not sold on him but willing to consider him. And that’s where the real risk is.
Sadly, the upside for Trump politically might be surrendering the assets it will take to pay the judgement and then saying that yes, they are out to get him.