IS/WAS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP A BAD BUSINESSMAN?

[7thson]

The past several years, I have heard and/or read of how bad a businessman President Donald Trump is and has been during his life.

I went online to look for examples and it seems the stories that he is a bad businessman are from leftist outlets - CNN, NPR, MSNBC, the New Yorker, NYT, and so on. (Side note - does Forbes swing to the left?)

So I need assistance from my fellow Freepers and from Freeperland.

Is there an unbiased source of information concerning President Trump's wealth, how he obtained it, how he has grown his wealth, etc?

Thank you to all in advance who can/will provide this type of information.

[9YearLurker]

So true.

[CodeToad]

“He ONCE WAS a poor example of a husband.”

How? Give an example.

[CodeToad]

“I’m not here to bash Trump”

It is all you do. You are here to troll against Republicans. You claim to be a registered republican when I know you are a registered democrat.

[JoSixChip]

I'm not here to bash Trump

Boy! You just can't help your self. In fact, that is your only purpose here.

[fightin kentuckian]

Overall he is a very good businessman. This can be measured in the net worth of his companies.
Yes, he has made a few bad business decisions out of thousands of good ones. The dimocrats tell all about the bad ones and even make up some and use that to demonstrate that he’s bad. Trump has had way more success than failures.

[rlmorel]

I know all I need to know about whether Donald Trump was effective as a businessman by looking at his involvement in renovating the Central Park Skating Rink.

LINK: How This Iconic Skating Rink Tells the Story of Donald Trump

For your question, this short (under four minutes) video, even if it may be construed as "Trump Propaganda" which has Newt Gingrich explaining in his own words why The Wollman Skating Rink (Central Park) Renovation Story explains a lot about who Donald Trump is and how he operates.

Trump had an office that looked out over Central park where he could see the skating rink which was a dilapidated state and non-functional. The City of New York had seen 6 years and 13 million dollars to fix it, and as is typical with government-led solutions, the time passed, money was spent, and it remained a non-functional, dilapidated eye-sore.

Trump complained publicly about it until, as Newt Gingrich describes it, the current New York mayor (Ed Koch) offered to give Trump a $3 million contract to fix the problem, just to get Trump off his back and shut him up.

One of the key things about it is that when Trump took on the project, he realized he knew nothing about skating rinks. So he did what any intelligent businessman would do, and began asking around about who did know things about skating rinks. And then thought occurred to him that Canadians know all about skating ranks. So he found out who the preeminent company was in Canada that dealt with skating rinks (Toromont-Cimco)and scheduled a meeting with them. It was the company that makes all the skating rinks for the NHL and other important venues. They came down, looked at the skating rink and said "This is so stupid it is embarrassing." Then they proposed a simpler and cheaper approach that was WHOLLY different from the one the City of New York had been fruitlessly pursuing.

The project was completed under time and under budget. Furthermore, Trump set up a trust, required people to pay to skate there, and fed the money back into the trust for maintenance and improvements to the rink and the area around it.

The other key thing was, once he had the project, he took personal ownership of it. He said he went down every day to check on the progress of it and to see what else might be required to make the deadline on time and under budget. Trump was quoted as saying: "You get what you inspect, not what you expect." They doubled the usership of the rink that had peaked around 130,000 a year to about 250,000 a year, and made it profitable (the profits being put back into the trust, not into the pockets of politicians)

I believe those two things (as described by Newt Gingrich) explain a lot about Donald Trump.

There are a lot of politicians (and voters too) who think that a real leader knows all about the issues right down to the most granular detail. This seems to be especially prevalent in leftists, with their love affair with people like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama who were considered to be "policy wonks".

Trump approached these kinds of things as a businessman would and as an executive, not as a politician would. And he got results that only private industry can, and government NEVER can.

I suggest you watch the video, as Newt Gingrich simply explains the dynamic of his thought process, and why someone like trump can do things in a political environment that regular politicians simply have not been able to do. It doesn't mean he's perfect in anyway or infallible, but it does mean that his approach is dramatically different.

And that's why many people support him as a candidate for President.

Donald Trump may not be the solution to the governmental problems we face, but with his mindset, he is less likely to be the cause of them.

[CodeToad]

“Donald Trump may not be the solution to the governmental problems we face”

That’s a perfect example of gaslighting: Saying something people might believe like the overall story then toss in the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) that Trump shouldn’t be president.

“Gosh, he was a good businessman but he shouldn’t be president.”

[9YearLurker]

I don’t see that as gaslighting, but as effective soft-sell persuasion.

He’s dropping the reader’s guard by being clear that he’s not pulling too much from the anecdote, but then also getting agreement that he’s less likely to cause harm than most pols.

That said, although I’ll undoubtedly vote for him, I am not as convinced as many here that he’s not controlled op.

[Zack Attack]

Someone define businessman in this context?

[YouGoTexasGirl]

My exact thoughts.

What a coinkadink!!

[YouGoTexasGirl]

EXACTLY!

[FarCenter]

First, this is New York City. Not finishing the rink was a feature, not a bug. It was providing a steady stream of payments to politically connected contractors.

Second, renovating the rink on time, under budget undoubtedly required payoffs to mob-connected trades. Maybe not directly on this project, but probably offsets on other projects.

Third, the ultimate fate under the Trump organization is described here:

“Trump let this beloved ice rink fall to pieces. A new partnership is bringing it back to life”

https://www.fastcompany.com/90696000/trump-let-this-beloved-ice-rink-fall-to-pieces-a-new-partnership-is-bringing-it-back-to-life

[Nervous Tick]

🤠😘

[Nervous Tick]

Excellent post! Thank you.

[SamAdams76]

I wish I was a "failed" businessman with billions in the bank!

These Trump haters are hilarious in their flawed logic.

[Valpal1]

I read an interview of his first wife and she said she left him because he was a workaholic. They stayed friends.

Don’t know about the 2nd wife, but she struck me as a gold digger that married with a divorce payout as the goal.

Melania seems to take marriage seriously.

[linMcHlp]

Trump was quoted as saying: "You get what you inspect, not what you expect."

bttt

[Jonty30]

Your hindsight is amazing!

[faucetman]

The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump.

1987

I still have my copy.

[faucetman]

Do you also want to know if the sun is really hot? Or if water is really wet?