The Trump Organization has retained the services of JLL to assist in the possible sale of the Trump International Hotel DC. As Eric Trump explains: "Since we opened our doors, we have received tremendous interest in this hotel, and as real estate developers, we are always willing to explore our options."
Fair enough, any good businessperson will keep their options open. But Eric added: “People are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel and therefore we may be willing to sell." And this is where the truth takes a beating.
The idea that a Trump would do something because people objected is laughable. There is nothing in the history of the clan that shows any capability for shame. Trump would no more turn his back on a nickel than he would pay a sub-contractor without shaving the bill.
The truth lies elsewhere.
As a privately held business — and absent the tax returns so often promised and never delivered — it impossible to say where the Trump Organization stands as a whole. Trump's financial statements talk to asset values but do not report debt. But there are reasons to believe that the organization is saddled with obligations.
Not the least is that Trump long ago awarded himself the title ‘King of Debt’. And nothing suggests he has changed in that self-regard.
Add to that Trump’s well-documented history of financial failure. The serial bankruptcies of his casinos are the supreme shining monument to his incompetence. Trump may have excused his incompetence by arguing economic conditions were to blame. But any argument that is was a ‘tough market’ is swatted away by his perfect record of starting or buying businesses that soon shuttered their doors.
A great businessperson does well in both good times and bad. A second-rate specimen fails, no matter what the financial climate.
Which brings us back to his DC Hotel. That entity has reportedly earned revenues of $80 million since Trump’s inauguration. But we know that his two Scottish clubs — despite the best efforts of the US military — are losing money and have received cash infusions from the parent organization.
We also know from filings with the local authorities that Trump’s briefly proposed G-7 host location, Doral, is also losing money. And despite Trump’s fantasy marketing, it is considered pretty average as far as these things go.
So a rational analysis suggests that the Trump Organization is selling the Trump International Hotel DC because they need the money. And to sell such a high-profile, prestigious property they must need it badly.
And not because, as Trump would have his base believe, he has lost $3-5 billion being President. But because of the incompetence that the patriarch has passed to his sons. And due to the fact that Trump’s bestial behavior in the presidency has made his brand so toxic. Half the country wouldn’t stay in a Trump property or rent a Trump apartment if you paid them. And the other half can’t afford to.
And Saudi money can only go so far.
[This diary as been amended to reflect that the $80 million to the DC Hotel was revenue, not profit]