I have never cared for Trump. From around 2015 when I started to learn about him I thought he was sleazy. But, like most, I didn’t think Trump would get far as a politician. So, when Trump continued to get closer to getting elected I was surprised and alarmed.
I wrote this intro to Trump in 2015:
This webpage contains a collection of links to statements from public individuals stating why they oppose Trump for president.
In my opinion, Trump is clearly not fit for any position of power. The power he has wielded has mostly been ill gotten and abused. Documentation of my claim is in the extensive reporting on Trump’s life, enterprises, and public statements. The information that is available should be convincing. Donald Trump is a swindler, liar, cheater, sleaze, demagogue, willfully ignorant, bully,… The few positive qualities I can see in Trump is that he is a mover who can get things done. Similar to the fictional character Tony Soprano.
The 2016 election was fair, but a bit of a fluke. I think unusual events, such as Comey’s memo being sent out just prior to the election helped Trump win.
Many, including me, thought Trump would become presidential, but he never did. By The 2020 election, it should have been clear to everyone that Tramp was unfit for public office.
Next his roles in the Election Fraud, Efforts to Overturn the Election Results, organizing, instigating, and exacerbating the January 6th 2021 Capitol Attachs, should convince any and everyone that Trump is unfit for office.
IMHO There is no valid, American values-based, reason one could vote for Trump. Nearly all the Democrats I know feel that way. And, none of us can understand the extent of the MAGA following. The Trump cult is a disturbing demographic.
Trump and Elected MAGA Supporters: 2020 – Present
Seditious
Corrupt
Unhinged
Mendacious
Bullied
Aggrieved
Gullible
The SCUM acronym characterizes Trump
The BAG acronym characterizes many of his elected MAGA supporters.
Overviews of Trump’s Life
Wikipedia provides a concise summary of Donald Trump’s life.
The Frontline Interviews: The Choice 2016 September 27, 2016 (01:55:00)
All Frontline investigations are well done. This Frontline is about Trump’s and Hillary’s lives from childhood to the present. Both lives are driven and aggressive. This provides some of the answers to the debate question regarding what have Trump and Hillary been doing for the last 30 years.
Extensive information has been available on Trump over the years.
Trump’s Rollercoaster Career Marked by Self Interest – PBS Newshour
This 9 minute PBS News Hour story is a video, podcast, or transcript. It is well worth the time.
“Donald Trump has tried to sell himself as a successful businessman who can boost American prosperity. However, the specifics of his dealings and debt may tell a different story. William Brangham learns more from Marc Fisher of The Washington Post and Tim O’Brien of Bloomberg to get a glimpse into Donald Trump as an entrepreneur.”
Fifty years of investigations on Trump, visualized – Washington Post
This brief article lists Trump’s corruption, bankruptcies, and money laundering over the last 50 years. A graphic, synopsis of Corrupt and Mendacious Trump behavior.
For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment
Here is a complete, concise synopsis of Trump’s scandals.
For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment NY Times Oct 20, 2024
“No major party presidential candidate, much less president, in American history has been accused of wrongdoing so many times.”
“In all the different ways that Mr. Trump has upended the traditional rules of American politics, that may be one of the most striking. He has survived more scandals than any major party presidential candidate, much less president, in the life of the republic.”
“Not only survived but thrived. He has turned them on their head, making allegations against him into an argument for him by casting himself as a serial victim rather than a serial violator.”
“But Mr. Trump has boasted that he still made money in Atlantic City even after leaving a trail of losses for nearly everyone else involved, including workers who lost jobs.”
Trump’s Business Enterprises
First, I do not see the skills and role of a corporate businessman as strongly applicable to being a US President. Corporations are more like dictatorships than democracies. In a democracy, one has to negotiate and compromise.
A popular view of Trump is that he is a successful businessman. He has been successful to a degree. Trump’s financially successful businesses are reality and celebrity shows, ‘The Apprentice’, Professional Wrestling, and Beauty Pageants.
Trump’s businesses have largely been spending big money and getting bankruptcy protection.
Trump is quite capable of thinking and acting big, typically with other people’s money.
Wikipedia chronicles Trump’s business dealings ‘Donald Trump’, sub-section ‘Business career’. <Donald Trump – Wikipedia>. Trump has invested hundreds of millions of dollars at a time, into real estate, hotels, casinos and golf courses. Trump’s sources of finance were family money, junk bonds, and business stocks.
Trump has lost hundreds of millions of inherited money, billions of investor dollars, and billions of dollars of bank loans. Trump has filed for bankruptcy protection 6 times. For Trump, bankruptcy protection is his business model, a way to make money.
An assessment of Trump’s businesses entails sorting through Trump disinformation:
- Net Worth Lies: Challenging estimates of his net worth he considered too low, in 1989 Trump said he had very little debt.[28] Reuters reported Trump owed $4 billion to more than 70 banks at the beginning of 1990.[29]
- Corrupt Trump Charities: the Attorney General of New York opened an inquiry into the Donald J. Trump Foundation‘s fundraising practices and ultimately issued a “notice of violation” ordering the Foundation to stop raising money in New York. The Foundation had to admit it engaged in self-dealing practices to benefit Trump, his family, and businesses.
- Trump University Fraud: Promoting his Trump University after its formation in 2004, Trump asserted he would handpick all its instructors. Michael Sexton, former president of the venture, stated in a 2012 deposition that Trump selected none of the instructors.
Recently the financial state has been less opaque due to the unofficial release of his tax returns. A recent, quick read regarding Trump’s finances is from ‘The Week’. (‘The Week’ is a weekly news magazine compilation of perspectives from multiple news sources.) ‘The Week’ article affirms via the tax returns that Trump is in debt by ~ $400 million, and to whom, remains unknown.
Second, Trump is not nearly as successful in earnings, nor negotiating as he claims to be. He claims around $10 billion. Others estimate between: in-debt up to 3 or 4 billion in assets.
Third, much of Trump’s billions are ill-gotten.
Trump Business Enterprises and Russia
Editor’s letter in The Week
Turkey began investing in Eric Adams a decade ago, when he was just the Brooklyn borough president. The Turks saw Adams as an ambitious politician “on the rise,” federal prosecutors say, and provided him with luxury air travel and hotels and illegal donations for a mayoral campaign. When Adams became New York City’s mayor, a Turkish businessman who helped woo him told people that “Adams would soon be president of the United States.” Alas, that plan went awry and ended in criminal charges, but sometimes, foreign governments make more successful bets.
In 1987, the Soviet Union began cultivating real estate mogul Donald Trump, inviting him to Moscow to discuss business opportunities. Two months later. Trump spent $100,000 on fullpage ads in The New York Times urging the U.S. to “stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves.” It was Trump’s first public attack on U.S. allies and NATO, but not the last. He made many subsequent trips to Moscow.
In the 1990s, Trump went bankrupt after losing nearly $1 billion on his Atlantic City casinos. U.S. banks would no longer loan him money. In the 2000s, oligarchs and mobsters from Russia and former Soviet republics rescued Trump by buying hundreds of Trump condos in New York, Florida, and elsewhere, laundering tens of millions in the process. A Russian oligarch bought a Palm Beach estate from Trump for $95 million, four years after Trump paid $41 million for it. (The oligarch never moved in.)
“Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Donald Trump Jr. said in 2008. Moscow’s investment has brought spectacular returns. Last week, Trump boasted of his “very good relationship” with the sociopathic Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and said that if Ukraine had only “given up a little bit” of territory instead of resisting Russia’s brutal invasion, hundreds of thousands of people would not be dead. Trump vowed that if he wins the election, he will work out “a fair deal” for all. In Moscow, Putin was grinning that Cheshire-cat grin.
William Falk, Editor-at-large, The Week Oct 11, 2024
Dealings with Russia – Trump’s Response
On January 10, 2017, BuzzFeed News published the Steele dossier (also called the Trump–Russia dossier), a series of reports prepared by a private intelligence source in Great Britain. The unverified dossier alleged various connections and collusion between Trump associates and Russia before and during the 2016 presidential election.[16] The next day, January 11, Trump tweeted, “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!”[17] USA Today evaluated that assertion as “not exactly true”.[18] At a February 16, 2017 press conference, Trump said, “And I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia.”[19]
On May 9, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, “He [Trump] has no business in Russia. He has no connections to Russia.”[20]
On May 9, 2017, Trump’s tax law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which said a review of Trump’s tax returns for the past 10 years did not find income from Russian sources during that period, save for
“a few exceptions”.[21] The exceptions were the 2008 sale of a Trump-owned 6.26-acre (2.53 ha) estate in Palm Beach, Florida, for $95 million to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev,[22][23] who tore down the 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m2) mansion shortly after and sold 2.72 acres (1.10 ha) of the site for $34 million,[24] as well as $12.2 million in payments in connection with holding the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013, plus a number[quantify] of “immaterial” deals.
No independently verifiable evidence was provided, such as tax returns, and it has been noted that even disclosure of tax returns would not necessarily disclose Russian-source income. The letter also said Trump had received undisclosed payments over 10 years from Russians for hotel rooms, rounds of golf, or Trump-licensed products such as wine, ties, or mattresses, which would not have been identified as coming from Russian sources in the tax returns.[25] The letter was a response to earlier requests from Senator Lindsey Graham asking whether there were any such ties.[26]
On November 30, 2018, a day after Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump’s business projects in Russia, Trump tweeted that it was “very legal & very cool” that he did “run for President & continue to run my business”. Trump continued: “Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn’t do the project.”[12] — From Wikipedia
Scumbag Trump – Corrupt and Mendacious
Lies of Trump – No Regard for Truth
Trump is notorious for lifelong lying. He far exceeds others, including politicians. A synopsis of his lies are in the Wikipedia article ‘Veracity of statements by Donald Trump’, <Veracity of Sfatements by Donald Trump>. Browse through the article noting the range, degree, and pervasiveness of Trump’s lying.
- In 2018, journalist Jonathan Greenberg released audio recordings from 1984 in which Trump, posing as his own spokesman John Barron, made false assertions of his wealth to secure a higher ranking on the Forbes 400 list of wealthy Americans, including claiming he owned over 90 percent of his family’s business.
- The Birther Bullshit: Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories from 2011. Known as “birther” theories, these allege that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. In 2011, Trump took credit for pushing the White House to release Obama’s “long-form” birth certificate, while raising doubt about its legitimacy, and in 2016 admitted Obama was a natural-born citizen from Hawaii.
- Trump later falsely stated that Hillary Clinton started the conspiracy theories.
A specific, periodically updated list of lies maintained by The Washington Post is, ‘In 1,316 days, President Trump has made 22,247 false or misleading claims. The Fact Checker’s ongoing database of the false or misleading claims made by President Trump since assuming office.’ <Trump False Claims Database>. This database can be filtered by topic, source, and filtered or sorted by several criteria. The presentation is a left column containing an example of the lie, and the right column containing an analysis of the associated facts. The left column largely matches Trump’s campaign promises. The sheer number of lies, and repetitions of lies, might be amusing … if Trump was not president, and conceivably could be president for another term.
This database should be required reading, or at least browsing, for anyone voting for Trump. Trump lies permeate all his actions, businesses, rallies, and policy claims.
Throughout his life, Trump’s credibility has been low. Apparently his supporters believe him, or simply don’t care.
Trump’s Political Career
Trump 2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Donald_Trump
Trump’s political stances are difficult to outline because he changes and contradicts them.
Trump’s political positions, and his descriptions of his beliefs, have frequently changed, and often been vague or contradictory.[6][7] Politico has described his positions as “eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory.” As of late September 2016, NBC News identified 117 reversals or other “distinct policy shifts” on twenty major issues that Trump has made since announcing his presidential campaign.[9] In July 2016, PolitiFact counted 17 times when Trump said one thing and then denied having said it. – Wikipedia
A Full List of Donald Trump's Rapidly Changing Policy Positions prior to 2016
The 141 Stances Donald Trump Took During His White House Bid
The Republican nominee changes his mind so frequently and so dramatically that a compilation of his current policies would not tell the whole story, nor would it be up to date for very long — he once offered up three different views on abortion in eight hours. By mixing facts with exaggerations and outright falsehoods while simultaneously refusing to offer specifics — insisting that unpredictability is an advantage he’ll use to cut better deals — Trump and the Republican Party that’s nominated him are putting forward the most elusive presidential platform in modern history.
Trump Litigation
Donald Trump: Three decades, 4,090 Lawsuits – USA Today
Trump throughout his life has been involved in an extraordinary amount of litigation. This USA Today document lists Trump’s lawsuits by category, yearly counts, and the outcomes. Many of these appear to be a legitimate result of doing business. However, many strike me as a result of scams, and rip-offs by Trump. Read and click.
Mentorship from Roy Cohn
One nasty lawyer, Roy Cohn, showed Trump how to exploit power and instill fear through a simple formula: attack, counterattack and never apologize.
The man who showed Donald Trump how to exploit power and instill fear Washington Post
Roy Cohn was Trump’s fixer, lawyer, and mentor for 13 years in the 1970s and 1980s. … In 1973, Cohn helped Trump countersue the U.S. government for $100 million (equivalent to $686 million in 2023 over its charges that Trump’s properties had racially discriminatory practices. Trump’s counterclaims were dismissed, and the government’s case went forward, ultimately resulting in a settlement. – Wikipedia
Trump’s Legal Affairs – to 2017
Trump accomplished much of his marginally ethical financial outcomes by retaining and utilizing a team of lawyers, often as a bullying tactic. (See, ‘Legal affairs of Donald Trump ). This Wikipedia article directs to a USA Today article, ‘Exclusive: Trump’s 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential nominee (2016)’ < Exclusive: Trump’s 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential nominee >. Browse through this lawsuit list. Consider how an ethical person would be involved in this many lawsuits.
Trump’s Legal Affairs – 2017 to Present
Trump has been breaking laws throughout his life. For alleged crimes during his presidency, the DOJ is holding him accountable. Trump disingenuously blames his criminal behavior on law enforcement. Trump whines that the FBI and DOJ are weaponized against, poor, aggrieved Trump. In fact the legal system is indicting seditious, criminal, convict Trump.
List of Trump Indictments
Here is POLITICO’s guide to four Trump criminal cases.
Tracking the Trump Criminal Cases – Politico Interactive
IMHO this interactive guide is well worth browsing.
It appears that the Politico list is ordered by the severity of criminal charges.
Each case has a description, status, and analysis of strengths and weaknesses. Much of the evidence for these cases is in the public domain. There are a lot of people, judges, grand juries, courts, witnesses, and characters involved. It is the American Judicial System at work. The DOJ and FBI play only a role.
The question is will Trump evade accountability, yet again? One step at a time Jack Smith indicting Trump In January 6 Investigation
RINO Take-Over of the GOP
MAGA RINO’s took over the GOP…
and disgraced the party and the institutions it operates in
Psychological Projection
The Republican party has transformed projection from a psychological phenomenon into a political strategy. In a clinical setting, projection—accusing others of one’s own flaws—is an uncontrollable behavior. Months into his tenure, Trump still responds to controversies by lobbing the same charges at his opponents.
– The Bulwark: The Republican Party’s Partisanship Projection Problem
MAGA Projection List
RINO (Republican In Name Only) – The Republican Party existed before Trump and before many politicians used the term to disparage core Republican members. The actual RINOs are Trump and MAGAs that have taken over the GOP.
Stop the Steal – Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 Election. Trump supporters have attempted to steal the election by: storming the US Capitol to prevent vote certification; and attempting to present fake slates of the Electoral College by creating and submitting fraudulent certificates of ascertainment; Trump attempting to extort votes from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in Georgia …
Fake News – This item could be applied to many news stories across the political spectrum. However, Trump’s usage of it is classic psychological projection as Trump is the King of Bullshit, lies and Fake news.
Ranking of U.S. Presidents
C-SPAN
C-SPAN
Source, Survey, Published
Release date
2021
Region
United States
Survey time period
1789 to 2021
Number of respondents
142 respondents
Method of interview
Panel survey
Supplementary notes
Joe Biden has not been included, and Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd and 24th U.S. President, has been counted as a single entry.
142 “historians, professors, and other professional observers of the presidency” were asked to rank the 44 U.S. presidents in ten areas of leadership, on a scale of one (“not effective”) to ten (“very effective”). The scores were then tabulated and averaged, to give a score out of 100 for each category, and a total score out of 1,000.
Presidential Greatness Project
https://presidentialgreatnessproject.com
It takes a MAGA Supporter to ignore or not know this widely reported survey.
All the credible surveys I came across rank SCUMBAG Trump in the bottom 4 or 5.
The survey, conducted online in late 2023, combined the responses of 154 experts — current or recent members of the American Political Science Association’s presidential politics division as well as scholars who recently published peer-reviewed research in related journals or academic presses. Respondents were asked to rate presidents on a scale of 0 to 100 — 0 for failure, 50 for average and 100 for great.