THOUGH I’M NOT SURE WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF
IT YET.
IT YET. BUT THEN THIS AFTERNOON "THE NEW
YORK TIMES" PUBLISHED A FREAKING
40-PAGE-LONG, 13,000-WORD
40-PAGE-LONG, 13,000-WORD MIND-BENDING EXPOSE ABOUT THE
PRESIDENT, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT
HIS MONEY AND HOW HE GOT IT,
WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE A
180-DEGREE DIFFERENT STORY OF
THE PRESIDENT’S OWN ACCOUNT OF
HOW HE MADE HIS MONEY.
THE STORY ALSO POTENTIALLY
IMPLICATES THE PRESIDENT IN
PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL FRAUD AND TAX
EVASION.
EVASION. SO -- OKAY.
EVERYBODY ON THE STAFF HERE ON
THE SHOW, WE NOW HAVE THESE
LITTLE POKER CHIPS.
OUR SHOW JUST HAD OUR TEN-YEAR
BIRTHDAY, WHICH WE’RE VERY HAPPY
ABOUT IT.
ABOUT IT. A BIG MILESTONE FOR US.
NOBODY MAKES IT TO TEN YEARS.
TO CELEBRATE, MY SWEETIE SUSAN
BOUGHT EVERYBODY THESE LITTLE
POKER CHIPS.
POKER CHIPS. CAN WE HOLD ONE UP TO THE
CAMERA?
CAMERA? CAN EVEN FOCUS.
IT SAYS "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW"
ON ONE SIDE AND THE OTHER SIDE
IT SAYS LUCKY TEN, BECAUSE WE
MADE IT TO TEN YEARS.
IT’S VERY SWEET, RIGHT?
THIS IS OUR STAFF PRESENT FOR
TURNING TEN.
TURNING TEN. I LOVE IT.
AND IT TURNS OUT TONIGHT IT
WOULDN’T TAKE LONG TO HELP TELL
THIS STORY.
THIS STORY. DECEMBER 1990, DONALD TRUMP OWNS
A CASINO CALLED THE TRUMP CAST
UNTIL ATLANTIC CITY.
HE HAS DONE A VERY BAD JOB
RUNNING THAT CASINO.
HE HAS WAY OVERSPENT ON
RENOVATIONS, OTHERWISE DUMPED
WAY MORE CASH INTO IT THAN THE
BUSINESS COULD KEEP UP WITH.
AND ON DECEMBER 17th, 1990, HIS
CASINO, THE TRUMP CASTLE NEEDED
TO MAKE A PAYMENT, A
MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR INTEREST
MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR INTEREST PAYMENT ON A BIG LOAN THEY HAD
TAKEN OUT FOR THAT FAILING
CASINO.
CASINO. JUST HOURS BEFORE THAT PAYMENT
WAS DUE, IT REALLY LOOKED LIKE
TRUMP WAS NOT GOING TO MAKE IT,
WHICH WOULD HAVE DIRE
CONSEQUENCES.
CONSEQUENCES. AND SO HIS DAD, WHO WAS THEN 85
YEARS OLD, SENT A BAG MAN TO
THIS CASINO, TO DONALD TRUMP’S
CASINO IN ATLANTIC CITY.
THE DUDE HE SENT, HIS NAME WAS
HOWARD SNYDER, WALKED INTO
TRUMP’S CASINO IN ATLANTIC CITY.
HE WENT UP TO THE CAGE WHERE ALL
THE CASHIERS WORK ON THE CASINO
FLOOR AND HE HANDED THEM A CHECK
FOR $3.35 MILLION.
THE CASHIERS VERIFIED THAT THE
CHECK WAS GOOD, AND THE CASINO
PROMPTLY HANDED OVER TO HOWARD
SNYDER A BIG PILE OF POKER
CHIPS.
CHIPS. HERE YOU GO.
EACH WORTH $5,000.
$3.3 MILLION WORTH OF POKER
CHIPS.
CHIPS. HOWARD SNYDER TOOK THOSE POKER
CHIPS, PUT THEM IN A BAG AND
LEFT.
LEFT. HE DID NOT PLAY POKER WITH THEM.
HE DID NOT GAMBLE WITH THEM.
HE JUST TOOK THE POKER CHIPS
AWAY.
AWAY. APPARENTLY THE NEXT DAY IT
TURNED OUT THAT THAT $3.35
MILLION WASN’T ENOUGH.
DONALD TRUMP IS STILL IN
TROUBLE.
TROUBLE. STILL NOT GOING MAKE THE
INTEREST PAYMENT.
INTEREST PAYMENT. TRUMP’S DAD THE NEXT DAY WIRED
ANOTHER $150,000 TO THAT CASINO.
ONCE AGAIN, THEY CHECKED THAT
THE WIRE WAS GOOD, THE MONEY
THERE WAS FROM TRUMP’S DAD.
THEY ISSUED ANOTHER $150,000 IN
POKER CHIPS.
POKER CHIPS. $5,000 A CHIP.
DUDE PICKED THEM UP, PUT THEM IN
A BAG, DID NOT GAMBLE WITH THOSE
CHIPS.
CHIPS. HE JUST TOOK THEM AND HE LEFT
THE BUILDING.
THE BUILDING. POKER CHIPS ARE AWESOME.
TAKE IT FROM ME, I NOW HAVE A
NEW HABIT OF PLAYING WITH THEM
ALL THE TIME NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE
THEM FOR THE SHOW AS LITTLE
CHAMPY
CHAMPY CHAMPY Y
CHAMPY Y CHAMP CHAMPYS.
CHAMP CHAMPYS. THEY’RE FUN.
THEY’RE FUN. ANOTHER $3.5 MILLION JUST BUYING
A BIG BAG OF THESE THAT HE GOT
TO TAKE HOME.
AND THEY’RE NEERKTS BUTAT, BUT T
ACTUALLY HAVE INTEGRAL VALUE
UNLESS YOU’RE GOING SPEND THEM
AT THE CASINO.
HE JUST GOT A BIG BAG OF CHIPS
AND LEFT WIT.
$3.5 MILLION.
$3.5 MILLION. THAT WAS ILLEGAL.
BUT IT LUIS WAS ALSO HANDY IN
THE MOMENT WHEN DONALD TRUMP WAS
UP AGAINST THE DEADLINE FROM THE
BANK THAT $3.5 MILLION, IT SORT
OF LOOKED LIKE GAMBLING INCOME
FOR THE CASINO THAT CAME IN JUST
IN TIME SO THE CASINO COULD MAKE
ITS INTEREST PAYMENT.
OF COURSE, IT WASN’T GAMBLING
INCOME FOR THE CASINO.
IT WAS JUST DONALD TRUMP’S DAD
TRANSFERRING $3.5 MILLION TO HIS
SON WITHOUT PAYING ANY TAXES ON
IT, TO BAIL HIS SON OUT SO HE
COULD BAIL OUT THE BANK.
ULTIMATELY THEY GOT CAUGHT FOR
THAT BY GAMBLING REGULATORS.
THEY HAD TO PAY A $65,000 FINE
FOR PULLING OFF THAT SCHEME WITH
THE POKER CHIPS THAT THEY DID
NOT GAMBLE WITH.
BUT IN THE END, $65,000 FINE,
WHO CARES?
WHO CARES? SMALL POTATOES, RIGHT?
IT WORKED.
IT WORKED. THIS IS ONE OF THE MANY
ANECDOTES THAT "THE NEW YORK
TIMES" RECOUNTS TODAY ABOUT HOW
DONALD TRUMP’S ENTIRE LIFE HAS
BEEN BANKROLLED TO SPECTACULAR
EFFECT BY HIS DAD, WHICH HE HAS
ALWAYS DENIED.
ALWAYS DENIED. THIS ANECDOTE ABOUT THE POKER
CHIPS IS ACTUALLY ONE THAT WE’VE
SEEN REPORTED BEFORE.
ACTUALLY, SHORTLY AFTER IT
HAPPENED, THIS HAPPENED IN
DECEMBER 1990.
DECEMBER 1990. "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" WROTE
A STORY ABOUT IT IN JANUARY OF
1991, AND IT’S INTERESTING.
THERE IS EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF
FORESHADOWING FOR ALL OF NEWS
THE WAY THAT STORY WAS INITIALLY
REPORTED.
REPORTED. "WALL STREET JOURNAL" BROKE THE
STORY ABOUT THE POKER CHIP
SCHEME AND DONALD TRUMP’S DAD’S
BAG MAN IN JANUARY OF 1991.
AT FEW MONTHS LATER, "THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL" HAD TAKEN THAT
REPORTER OFF THE DONALD TRUMP
BEAT, BECAUSE UNBEKNOWNST TO
THEETTE OR THES AT THAT TIME,
THAT REPORTER HAD ONCE TAKEN
SOME BOXING TICKETS OFF TRUMP,
TICKETS SPECIFICALLY TO THE
EVANDER HOLYFIELD/GEORGE FOREMAN
FIGHT THAT YEAR IN ATLANTIC
CITY.
CITY. EDITORS AT THE "WALL STREET
JOURNAL" FOUND OUT THAT THEIR
REPORTER HAD DONE THAT, HAD
TAKEN THOSE TICKETS WHEN TRUMP
HIMSELF CALLED THE EDITORS OF
THE PAPER TO COMPLAIN ABOUT
THEIR NEGATIVE NEWS COVERAGE OF
HIM.
HIM. HAVING COMPROMISED THIS REPORTER
BY SLIPPING HIM SOME BOXING
TICKETS THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO
KEEP SECRET FROM HIS BOSSES,
TRUMP DROPPED THE GUILLOTINE.
HE NARCOTICED THE REPORTER AND
GOT THE DUDE TAKEN OFF THE
REPORTING BEAT.
REPORTING BEAT. BLEH, RIGHT?
BLEH, RIGHT? IT’S GROSS.
IT’S GROSS. BOTH THE STORY THAT THEY WERE
INITIALLY REPORTING ON AND THAT
KIND OF MANAGEMENT OF THE PRESS
THEREAFTER, I MEAN THAT WAS
1990, 1991.
1990, 1991. BUT THAT’S THE BUBBLING TOXIC
STEW WE ALL LIVE IN NOW WHEN IT
COMES TO COVERING NOT JUST THIS
PRESIDENCY, BUT THE GOVERNMENT
HE NOW CONTROLS.
WHAT "THE TIMES" HAS DOCUMENTED
IN THIS NEW BLOCKBUSTER PIECE OF
REPORTING ON TRUMP’S FINANCES IS
THAT THAT SCUMMY LITTLE
ANECDOTE, WHEN TRUMP’S DAD SENDS
IN A BAG MAN TO ILLEGALLY AND
SECRETLY BAIL OUT HIS SON AND
EVADE TAXES, THAT WAS NOT A ONE
OFF THAT WAS EMBLEMATIC OF A
PATTERN AND A PLAN THAT SHOWS US
A WILDLY DIFFERENT STORY ABOUT
THE PRESIDENT’S WEALTH AND HIS
BUSINESS HISTORY THAN ANYTHING
HE HAS EVER ADMITTED TO
PUBLICLY.
PUBLICLY. IT ALSO APPEARS TO IMPLICATE
HIM, AS I MENTIONED, IN TAX
EVASION, FRAUD, AND OTHER
POTENTIAL CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.
PART OF THE REASON THIS BEHAVIOR
AND THIS LARGER PATTERN OF THE
PRESIDENT’S FINANCIAL HISTORY
HASN’T COME TO LIGHT BEFORE NOW
IS BECAUSE "THE TIMES" SOMEHOW
FOR THIS STORY OBTAINED HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF PREVIOUSLY
UNSEEN DOCUMENTS FROM THE TRUMP
FAMILY AND THEIR BUSINESSES AND
THEIR FINANCIAL ENTITIES.
NO, THEY STILL DID NOT GET
DONALD TRUMP’S PERSONAL TAX
RETURNS, BUT THEY APPARENTLY DID
GET HIS DAD’S.
AND REAMS AND REAMS AND REAMS OF
FAMILY BUSINESS DOCUMENTS BOTH
FROM PUBLIC SOURCES AND ALSO
APPARENTLY FROM PRIVATE FILES.
SO THAT’S ONE REASON THIS STORY
HAS NEVER COME TO LIGHT BEFORE,
THIS DOCUMENTATION HAS NEVER
BEEN USED EDD JOURNALISTIST PURP
BEFORE.
BEFORE. BUT THE OTHER REASON IT HASN’T
BEEN TOLD IN THIS LEVEL OF
DETAIL IS BECAUSE WHAT "THE
TIMES" QUITE CANDIDLY DESCRIBES
AS THE HISTORY OF TRUMP GETTING
UNCRITICAL PRESS COVERAGE,
PARTICULARLY AROUND HIS
FINANCES.
FINANCES. HE HAS NOT BEEN A FINANCIAL
GENIUS.
GENIUS. HE HAS NOT BEEN A GREAT DEAL
MAKER.
MAKER. HE HAS NOT BEEN A GREAT BUSINESS
MIND, BUT HE HAS BEEN GREAT AT
CONVINCING THE CREDULOUS PRESS
TO DESCRIBE HIM AS SUCH OVER A
PERIOD OF DECADES.
AND THAT BIG BLUSTERY PR EFFORT
WAS EFFECTIVE AT DISGUISING THIS
BLATANT CON THAT HE PLAYED ON
THE PUBLIC FOR YEARS, PRETENDING
TO BE SOME KIND OF SELF-MADE
MILLIONAIRE OR EVEN SELF-MADE
BILLIONAIRE WHEN APPARENTLY HE
ISN’T ANYTHING OF THE SORT.
HERE IS THE LEAD FROM "THE
TIMES" TONIGHT.
TIMES" TONIGHT. QUOTE, PRESIDENT TRUMP
PARTICIPATED IN DUBIOUS TAX
SCHEMES DURING THE 1990s,
INCLUDING INCIDENTS OF OUTRIGHT
FRAUD THAT GREATLY INCREASED THE
INHERITANCE FROM HIS PARENTS.
HE HAS LONG INSISTED THAT HIS
FATHER PROVIDED NO FINANCIAL
HELP.
HELP. BUT "THE TIMES’" INVESTIGATION
BASED ON A VAST TROVE OF RECORDS
REVEALED THAT MR. TRUMP RECEIVED
THE EQUIVALENT TODAY OF $13413
MILLION FROM HIS FATHER’S REAL
ESTATE EMPIRE STARTING FROM WHEN
HE WAS A TODDLER AND CONTINUING
TO THIS DAY.
QUOTE, IN EVERY ERA OF MR.
TRUMP’S LIFE, HIS FINANCES WERE
DEEPLY INTERTWINED WITH AND
DEPENDENT ON HIS FATHER’S
WEALTH.
WEALTH. BY AGE 3, MR. TRUMP WAS EARNING
$200,000 A YEAR IN TODAY’S
DOLLARS FROM HIS FATHER’S
EMPIRE.
EMPIRE. HE WAS A MILLIONAIRE BY AGE 8.
SOON AFTER MR. TRUMP GRADUATED
FROM COLLEGE, HE WAS RECEIVING
THE EQUIVALENT OF A MILLION
DOLLARS A YEAR FROM HIS FATHER.
THE MONEY INCREASED WITH THE
YEARS TO MORE THAN $5 MILLION
ANNUALLY IN HIS 40s AND 50s.
FRED TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP’S
FATHER WAS RELENTLESS AND
CREATIVE IN FINDING WAYS TO
CHANNEL HIS WEALTH TO HIS
CHILDREN.
CHILDREN. HE MADE DONALD NOT JUST HIS
SALARIED EMPLOYEE BUT HIS
PROPERTY MANAGER, HIS LANDLORD
AND CONSULTANT.
AND CONSULTANT. HE GAY HIM LOAN AFTER LOAN,
WHICH WHICH WERE NEVER REPAID.
MONEY FOR HIS CAR, MONEY FOR
EMPLOYEES, MONEY TO BUY STOCKS,
MONEY FOR HIS FIRST MANHATTAN
OFFICES AND MONEY TO RENOVATE
THOSE OFFICE.
THOSE OFFICE. HE GAVE DONALD TRUMP THREE TRUST
FUNDS.
FUNDS. HE GAVE HIM SHARES IN MULTIPLE
PARTNERSHIPS.
PARTNERSHIPS. GAVE HIM $10,000 CHECKS AT
CHRISTMAS TIME.
CHRISTMAS TIME. HE GAVE HIM LAUNDRY REVENUE FROM
HIS BUILDINGS.
HIS BUILDINGS. BUT BEING A YOUNG MAN WHO WAS
JUST LIVING OFF HIS DAD’S
CONSIDERABLE WEALTH, JUST BEING
ON THE RECEIVING END OF HIS DAD
GIVING HIM TONS AND TONS OF
MONEY AND PAYING FOR EVERYTHING
IN HIS LIFE, THAT APPARENTLY WAS
NOT THE PUBLIC IMAGE THAT TRUMP
WANTED FOR HIMSELF OR THAT
TRUMP’S DAD WANTED FOR HIS SON.
AND SO THE SELLING OF A CONTRARY
AND UNTRUE PUBLIC IMAGE ABOUT
DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF BEING SOME
SORT OF SELF-MADE BUSINESS
MAVEN, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT
TRUMP ORCHESTRATED, BUT THE
PRESS REALLY HELPED HIM OUT.
HE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT
THEM.
THEM. SAND THIS IS WHERE "THE TIMES"
GETS VERY CANDID, EVEN ABOUT ITS
OWN ROLE IN ITS PART ABOUT THIS
PUBLIC LIE ABOUT DONALD TRUMP.
QUOTE, HE’S TALL, LEAN AND BLOND
WITH DAZZLING WHITE TEETH AND HE
LOOKS EVER SO MUCH LIKE ROBERT
REDFORD.
REDFORD. HE RIDES AROUND TOWN IN A
CHAUFFEURED CADILLAC WITH HIS
INITIALS ON THE PLATES.
EDATES SLINKY FASHION MODELS,
BELONGS TO THE MOST ELEGANT
CLUBS, AND AT ONLY 30 YEARS OF
AGE ESTIMATES HE IS WORTH MORE
THAN $200 MILLION.
SO BEGAN A NOVEMBER 1, 1976
ARTICLE IN "THE TIMES," ONE OF
THE FIRST MAJOR PROFILES OF
DONALD TRUMP AND A CORNERSTONE
OF DECADES OF MYTH MAKING ABOUT
HIS WEALTH.
HIS WEALTH. HOW CAN HE CLAIM TO BE WORTH
MORE THAN $200 MILLION WHEN HE
WOULD DIVULGE LATER TO CASINO
REGULATORS THAT HIS TAXABLE
INCOME THAT YEAR IN 1976 WAS
ACTUALLY $24,594 FOR THE FULL
YEAR?
YEAR? BUT THE TIMES IN 1976 APPARENTLY
BOUGHT IT HOOK, LINE AND SINKER,
AND THEN THEY TURNED AROUND AND
SOLD TO IT PUBLIC.
QUOTE, IN THE CHAUFFEURED
CADILLAC, DONALD TRUMP TOOK "THE
TIMES’" REPORTER ON A TOUR OF
WHAT HE CALLED JOBS CHS HE TOLD
HER ABOUT THE MANHATTAN HOTEL HE
PLANNED TO CONVERT INTO A GRAND
HYATT.
HYATT. HIS FATHER GRARNTED THE
CONSTRUCTION LOAN.
CONSTRUCTION LOAN. HE TOOK HER TO THE HUDSON RIVER
RAIL YARDS THAT HE PLANNED TO
DEVELOP.
DEVELOP. THE RIGHTS WERE PURCHASED BY HIS
FATHER’S COMPANY.
FATHER’S COMPANY. HE SHOWED THE REPORTER, QUOTE,
OUR PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVOR, THE
HIGH-RISE FOR THE ELDERLY IN
EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY THAT TOO
WAS BANKROLLED BY HIS FATHER.
ALSO, AN APARTMENT COMPLEX ON
STATEN ISLAND, WHICH WAS OWNED
BY HIS FATHER.
WHAT HE CALLED THEIR, QUOTE,
FLAGSHIP TRUMP VILLAGE IN
BROOKLYN, THAT TOO WAS OWNED BY
HIS FATHER.
HIS FATHER. AND FINALLY, BEACHHAVEN
APARTMENTS WHICH WERE ALSO OWNED
BY HIS FATHER.
EVEN THE CADILLAC WAS LEASED BY
HIS FATHER.
HIS FATHER. BUT HE DIDN’T TALK ABOUT HIS
FATHER’S OWNERSHIP OF ANY OF
THOSE THINGS.
THOSE THINGS. HE PASSED IT ALL OFF AS HIS OWN,
AND THEN HE BOASTED TO "THE
TIMES" AND THEY DUTIFULLY
PRINTED, SO FAR I’VE NEVER MADE
A BAD DEAL.
AS "THE TIMES" CONCLUDES TODAY,
NOW KNOWING THAT EVERYTHING HE
WAS PASSING OFF AS HIS OWN WAS
ACTUALLY OWNED BY HIS DAD, "THE
TIMES" CONCLUDES TODAY, QUOTE,
IT WAS A SPECTACULAR CON.
AND THEY’VE GOT ALL THIS
DETAILED REPORTING THAT JUST
MAKES THE STORY GET WORSE AND
WORSE AND WORSE.
QUOTE, WEEKS AFTER "THE TIMES’S"
PROFILE RAN, TRUMP SET UP STILL
MORE TRUST FOR HIS CHILDREN,
SEEDING EACH WITH TODAY’S
EQUIVALENT OF $3.4 MILLION.
EVEN WHEN TRUMP WAS ALREADY
PROCLAIMING HIMSELF ONE OF
AMERICA’S RICHEST MAN, HE WAS
STILL ON HIS FATHER’S PAYROLL,
DRAWING A SALARY OF 26$26 O,000.
FRED AND HIS COMPANY BEGAN
EXTENDING LARGE LOANS OF CREDIT
TO TRUMP.
TO TRUMP. WHEN HE BORROWED IN JANUARY FROM
HIS DAD $1.5 MILLION.
IN FEBRUARY, $65,000.
IN MARCH, $122,000.
IN APRIL, $150,000.
IN MAY, $192,000.
IN JUNE, $226,000.
IN JULY, $2.4 MILLION.
AND IN AUGUST, 40,000.
HE BORROWED ALL OF THAT MONEY
MONTH AFTER MONTH AFTER MONTH
AFTER MONTH, ALL FROM HIS DAD.
QUOTE, IN THEORY THE MONEY HAD
TO BE REPAID.
IN PRACTICE, RECORDS SHOW MANY
OF THESE LOANS WERE MORE LIKE
GIFTS.
GIFTS. BUT THE COLUMN OF BUNDLED NERVES
THAT RUNS DOWN THE SPINE OF THIS
STORY IS NOT JUST THAT TRUMP
TOOK OVER $400 MILLION FROM HIS
FATHER AND LIED FOR DECADES
ABOUT HAVING BUILT SOME SORT OF
BUSINESS EMPIRE ON HIS OWN WHEN
REALLY WHAT HE WAS DOING FOR
DECADES WAS JUST CASHING HIS
DAD’S CHECKS, THE STUFF THAT
RINGS LIKE A BELL IN THIS
REPORTING, NOT JUST FOR WHAT YOU
MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT DONALD
TRUMP IN THE PAST, BE FOR HIM
NOW, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE
LYING AND THE FALSE PUBLIC
PERSONA THAT BECAME HIS
POLITICAL PERSONA WHEN HE
DECIDED TO TURN IT INTO THAT.
THE TOUGH STUFF HERE IS ABOUT
CRIME.
CRIME. IT’S ABOUT POTENTIAL CRIMINAL
FRAUD AND CRIMINAL TAX EVASION
AND BEING ON THE HOOK FOR THAT