The Mad World of Donald Trump

cepheus

Understanding business is often touted as being a key measure for political success since those skills could be used to make the country wealthier.

I was watching the Mad World of Donald Trump last night. Since the guy is a billionaire and appears on the US version of The Apprentice, most people assume one of his attributes is business acumen. This seemed to be the assumption of many of his supporters on this programme. However, they are falling into the trap of assuming because someone is wealthy this must have been acquired through ability.

A closer look at his history suggests a very different picture.

Trump mostly does business in real estate just like his Father who practised a racist housing allocation policy, and was very close to shady characters in the underworld.

When 28 years old his Father's fortune was passed onto Donald Trump. He subsequently went broke filing for bankruptcy at least six times times after various unsound ventures in Hotels and Casinos. However, America loves Big Business, so the bankruptcy laws allow them to carry on whilst leaving small investors to pick up the pieces. He was the archetypical 'too big too fail' businessman.

Amazingly if he’d 'done nothing' and invested the $200m that Forbes magazine determined he was worth in 1982 in the Stock Market, it would have grown to more than $8 billion, probably around twice his current wealth.

So far from being a financial genius he was an abject failure relying on image and myth to project an image of a successful entrepreneur. Is that what could happen to America and the Western world if voters are unwise enough to allow him in?

More here:

https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-just-how-good-a-businessman-is-he-53713

CLAPTON

cepheus wrote: »

Understanding business is often touted as being a key measure for political success since those skills could be used to make the country wealthier.

I was watching the Mad World of Donald Trump last night. Since the guy is a billionaire and appears on the US version of The Apprentice, most people assume one of his attributes is business acumen. This seemed to be the assumption of many of his supporters on this programme. However, they are falling into the trap of assuming because someone is wealthy this must have been acquired through ability.

A closer look at his history suggests a very different picture.

Trump mostly does business in real estate just like his Father who practised a racist housing allocation policy, and was very close to shady characters in the underworld.

When 28 years old his Father's fortune was passed onto Donald Trump. He subsequently went broke filing for bankruptcy at least six times times after various unsound ventures in Hotels and Casinos. However, America loves Big Business, so the bankruptcy laws allow them to carry on whilst leaving small investors to pick up the pieces. He was the archetypical 'too big too fail' businessman.

Amazingly if he’d 'done nothing' and invested the $200m that Forbes magazine determined he was worth in 1982 in the Stock Market, it would have grown to more than $8 billion, probably around twice his current wealth.

So from apart from being a financial genius he was an abject failure relying on image and myth to project an image of a successful entrepreneur. Is that what could happen to America and the Western world if voters are unwise enough to allow him in?

More here:

https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-just-how-good-a-businessman-is-he-53713

yes 'do nothing' is often the best policy
sadly many socialist haven't learnt that lesson

kinger101

CLAPTON wrote: »

sadly many socialist haven't learnt that lesson

I thought the ones that wanted a citizen's income for watching someone else do all the hard work would endorse doing nothing.

cepheus

It seems there's a severe crisis in the GOP

The GOP’s historic alliance between conservative elites and the Silent Majority is perhaps finally breaking down.

https://theconversation.com/trump-and-the-gop-the-silent-majority-versus-the-establishment-53616

paddyrg

And when you wheel on Sarah Palin as your ballyhoo, you know things are going to get even more bizarre.

I'm just keeping the faith that the American public are smart enough to knock this one into the long grass, that bigoted, immature, bullying a***hole having access to nuclear weapons is frankly terrifying. And absolutely no real policies, just nationalistic fervour and being 'that bloke off the TV' is no qualification for the job.

CLAPTON

paddyrg wrote: »

And when you wheel on Sarah Palin as your ballyhoo, you know things are going to get even more bizarre.

I'm just keeping the faith that the American public are smart enough to knock this one into the long grass, that bigoted, immature, bullying a***hole having access to nuclear weapons is frankly terrifying. And absolutely no real policies, just nationalistic fervour and being 'that bloke off the TV' is no qualification for the job.

did obama have any real policies or any qualifications for the job?

cepheus

paddyrg wrote: »

And when you wheel on Sarah Palin as your ballyhoo, you know things are going to get even more bizarre.

I'm just keeping the faith that the American public are smart enough to knock this one into the long grass, that bigoted, immature, bullying a***hole having access to nuclear weapons is frankly terrifying. And absolutely no real policies, just nationalistic fervour and being 'that bloke off the TV' is no qualification for the job.

I think Palin is being brought in to placate the Evangelical movement, since Trump doesn't do God. (which proves you can find something positive in anyone). No-one had told Trump though, and he looked a bit bemused on stage with her.

cepheus

CLAPTON wrote: »

did obama have any real policies or any qualifications for the job?

Policies are difficult to introduce with the Republicans having a House majority, but he was trying to expand health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured. He also introduced a massive economic stimulus package which helped the US recover faster than the other developed countries.

Obama majored in political science with a speciality in international relations, so that's far more qualified than most Presidents.

Trump specialised in bullying and was a school dropout. So I suppose that makes him far more qualified in Republican eyes.

pogofish

cepheus wrote: »

I think Palin is being brought in to placate the Evangelical movement, since Trump doesn't do God. (which proves you can find something positive in anyone). No-one had told Trump though, and he looked a bit bemused on stage with her.

Trump did make extensive efforts to woo the Jewish community on Long Island when he was developing his golf course/residential scheme at Westchester some years ago and it is one site where the Trump Org has behaved with some responsibility in the years since - This may have had some carry-over with his relative popularity there?

CLAPTON

cepheus wrote: »

Policies are difficult to introduce with the Republicans having a House majority, but he was trying to expand health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured. He also introduced a massive economic stimulus package which helped the US recover faster than the other developed countries.

Obama majored in political science with a speciality in international relations, so that's far more qualified than most Presidents.

Trump specialised in bullying and was a school dropout. So I suppose that makes him far more qualified in Republican eyes.

if a uni degree is a qualification for presidency then we can both agree that Cameron is very well qualified for PM.

cepheus

CLAPTON wrote: »

if a uni degree is a qualification for presidency then we can both agree that Cameron is very well qualified for PM.

Cameron has the same one as Ed Miliband, although Ed has also a higher degree in Economics. I didn't realise you were a fan of his.

Anyway back to Trump the dunce.