Tuesday, May 10, 2016

How Donald Trump Deals with a Financial Crisis

Although he as walked back the statement somewhat, Donald Trump did say that if the U.S. economy were in dire straits and he was president. he would negotiate to pay US government Treasury securities off at a discount.

NYT reports:
One day after assuring Americans he is not running for president “to make things unstable for the country,” the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, said in a television interview Thursday that he might seek to reduce the national debt by persuading creditors to accept something less than full payment.

Asked whether the United States needed to pay its debts in full, or whether he could negotiate a partial repayment, Mr. Trump told the cable network CNBC, “I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”

He added, “And if the economy was good, it was good. So, therefore, you can’t lose.”
This is exactly how Trump has operated in the private sector. NYT informs of how Trump dealt with his mega Chicago project when the 208 financial crisis hit :
One of the lenders that have extended credit to Mr. Trump is Mr. [Steven]Mnuchin’s Dune Capital. Dune was among a syndicate of lenders led by Deutsche Bank for the construction of his Trump International Hotel & Tower, a 92-story skyscraper in Chicago. Mr. Trump sued the lenders, including Dune, in 2008 to extend the terms of the loan on the basis of “unprecedented financial crisis in the credit markets.” The suit was later settled.
Can you imagine that he sues his lenders because he was dumb enough to borrow money at the peak of the real estate market?

That's how Donald "Stiff Them If Necessary" Trump rolls.

Personally, I expect him to stiff taxpayers and raise taxes long before he stiffs Treasury security holders.

  -RW

3 comments:

  1. Trump also has contracts that say he can change things that brochures and other sales material promise. Then he changes them. This was the experience buyers had with Trump in Chicago. articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-02-12/business/0802120006_1_hotel-condo-donald-trump-trump-project

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  2. With the deficit we have, if rates go up you only have 2 choices. Print more money or default.
    Trump just said it out loud.
    "The truth is a revolutionary act"

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  3. It appears the law and normal business practices allow him to "stiff" creditors. So why wouldn't he? Lenders lend knowing they risk being defaulted on. Or they should know it.

    That said, I'm not voting for Trump and I'm certainly not lending him any money.

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