After Donald Trump Jr. put his foot in it with his Skittles tweet, next we got a howler from his brother Eric Trump. Last week on Fox News, Eric claimed that his father built the Trump Organization from virtually nothing. “He’s built an amazing company. He’s become the epitome of the American dream. He’s gone from just about nothing into, you know, a man who …”
This was too much even for Fox News. The co-host interrupted. “Nothing? He got a million bucks. Wait, come on.”
I think she grossly understated the magnitude of the lie. Even more than the early million dollar loan or the later inheritance, the most important thing Trump received was his father’s connections, which made the son’s deals possible. According to the Washington Post fact checker, Trump’s father Fred Trump “paved the way for his success” though “numerous loans and loan guarantees” and though “lucrative trusts” that provided steady income. His father also bailed him out when the son got into trouble, like when the father illegally bought $3.5 million in gaming chips so his son’s casino would have enough cash to make payments on its mortgage.
Trump also received $885 million in tax breaks, subsidies, and grants from New York city alone. In other words, Trump is a welfare queen who was bankrolled by the taxpayers through deals often made possible through his father’s connections (at one point, Fred Trump was one of the richest men in America).
At least Donald Trump’s children are following in his footsteps, like Trump did with his father.
