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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Burying the Brand

Burying the Brand

by Betty Cracker|  October 14, 20169:21 am| 129 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Assholes, General Stupidity

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keep-digging

Some folks theorize that Donald Trump originally conceived his candidacy as a brand-building exercise. There’s some evidence for that, including the fact that he often uses media coverage of his campaign for advertising purposes, as when he turned his “birther renunciation” presser into an infomercial for his DC hotel.

But if that’s the case, Trump has proved as inept at spinning political coverage into commercial gain as he was at hawking steaks, running an airline and operating casinos. New York Mag:

Donald Trump’s D.C. Hotel Shows His Brand Is Sinking Along With His Poll Numbers

Trump’s biggest disaster of the campaign — the revelations of a lewd tape in which he boasted about sexually accosting women — has led critics to throw more shade on his businesses. Fellow celebrity-billionaire Mark Cuban tweeted this on Friday night:

Every single @realDonaldTrump hotel and golf course is toast. Done. Over. Bernie Madoff now has a better brand.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 8, 2016

He might not be wrong. Take Trump’s latest, most lavish venture: the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which has become a focal point for grievances against the unconventional Republican presidential candidate…

For a five-star hotel in downtown Washington to have vacancies during major IMF meetings is a little like having empty rooms when the Super Bowl is in town. “The reason why there were vacancies is the political atmosphere. People don’t want to go there for fear that they would be asked, ‘Why are you staying here?’” says Ada Pena, a travel agent with ABA Travel in Washington, D.C.

The explosive tape of Trump boasting of sexually assaulting women will only “aggravate that feeling, especially when there are other options,” she says.

The hotel not only has a prime location and swank interiors, it boasts a branded Ivanka Trump spa, and tourist attractions related the building’s old function as a post office. But none of that seems to be attracting guests.

“You don’t see taxis stopping by like they do at the Marriott or the Willard, which are nearby,” says Pena, who works in the area. “It’s dark. There is no feeling of hospitality.” Locals aren’t eating at the restaurant for lunch either, she says.

“It’s a shame that it is called Trump because it’s a beautiful property. But overall, his brand is hurting,” the travel agent adds.

This is a real problem for Trump since his entire business model centers on licensing the Trump name to convey a Liberace-themed notion of conspicuous consumption. Unfortunately for the Trump brand, overt white supremacists are decidedly downscale and thus unable to afford luxury items.

Maybe Ivanka can cut a deal with Walmart for a discount shoes and accessories line, and Donald can peddle clip-on ties and wife-beater undershirts. Made in CHI-nuh, of course.

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Reader Interactions

129Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    October 14, 2016 at 9:26 am

    I think the term ‘poetic justice’ was invented for situations like this.

    Also, the phrase “Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad” would seem to describe the trajectory of the final phase of the campaign.

  2. 2.

    Chyron HR

    October 14, 2016 at 9:26 am

    Some folks theorize that Donald Trump originally conceived his candidacy as a brand-building exercise.

    No, I’m gonna stick with “Immunity from prosecution”.

  3. 3.

    Soylent Green

    October 14, 2016 at 9:27 am

    He will have to apply for wingnut welfare benefits.

  4. 4.

    Corner Stone

    October 14, 2016 at 9:27 am

    “Hi, I’m Ivanka. Welcome to Wal-Mart!”
    “Aren’t you…?
    “Kushner. I’m Ivanka Kushner.”

  5. 5.

    Scout211

    October 14, 2016 at 9:30 am

    I think Ivanka’s clothing line has already tanked. I have seen many of her branded clothing items at Marshall’s and TJMaxx in the past several months. Sad!

  6. 6.

    Richard Mayhew

    October 14, 2016 at 9:31 am

    Quick story: My wife’s company has a decent size presence in Washington DC. They throw a large party every year for their clients and potential clients. A new high end hotel usually is a good location for that party. In the planning stages (late spring) the new Trump property was proffered as a location and it was immediatley vetoed for political reasons.

  7. 7.

    who

    October 14, 2016 at 9:34 am

    He’ll make more money off the rebranding of Russia Today into Trump TV after this election than he would’ve ever made licensing his name to various marginally lucrative businesses.

  8. 8.

    p.a.

    October 14, 2016 at 9:34 am

    Trump is the James Spader teenage-movie character* who gets his comeuppance decades later. Better late than never.

    *Was Spader in John Hughes’ stable, or was he just in similar movies; they all run together for me, except Fast Times stands out.

  9. 9.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    October 14, 2016 at 9:35 am

    Made in CHI-nuh, of course.

    That’s pronounced, “JYE-nuh”!

  10. 10.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 9:35 am

    Ivanka will not suffer. Her husband is the heir of an actual NY real estate empire. Although he seems to be down in the dirt along with the rest of Trump’s hired troops, his name is only mentioned sporadically and he never seems to appear in public. I speculate that she will either drop the last name, or come up with some catchy alternative brand — like “IT,” although that particular one is out because there is already a line of cosmetics branded as “It.” She could use IK or ITK. Just for example. That’s how ValueJet survived, by changing its name to AirTran after having a horrendous record of safety that resulted in a plane going down in a Florida swamp.

  11. 11.

    Patricia Kayden

    October 14, 2016 at 9:36 am

    What a shock that catering to White Supremacists and alt-right folks is not an effective or productive plan. Not in business and not in national politics. Who could have known?

  12. 12.

    JPL

    October 14, 2016 at 9:37 am

    Has anyone asked Sarah whether or not it’s appropriate to call Marlee Matlin retarded?

  13. 13.

    Patricia Kayden

    October 14, 2016 at 9:38 am

    @Soylent Green: He already has. That’s why he pays zero income taxes.

  14. 14.

    Gertrude the Duck

    October 14, 2016 at 9:38 am

    “You don’t see taxis stopping by like they do at the Marriott or the Willard, which are nearby,”

    This is perhaps not the most convincing empirical evidence.

  15. 15.

    Botsplainer

    October 14, 2016 at 9:40 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Too young for that. I prefer to think of her standing a counter at an outlet at a third tier outlet strip mall outside Ocala.

    Deadbeat Donnie can alternate WalMart greeter duty with laying on the couch and shouting at video of Apprenttice reruns.

  16. 16.

    Keith P.

    October 14, 2016 at 9:41 am

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): I never get tired of Alec Baldwin doing that. The way he blurted it out of nowhere the first time had me rolling. the other day I caught a few seconds of O’Reilly, and he was actually enunciating it the same way. It was like when half of Fox News started saying “nucular” when W. was in office.

  17. 17.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    October 14, 2016 at 9:44 am

    @Scout211:

    I think Ivanka’s clothing line has already tanked. I have seen many of her branded clothing items at Marshall’s and TJMaxx in the past several months. Sad!

    It’s not recent.

    I used to work at a TJ Maxx Distribution Center and I saw Ivanka branded shoes going out to stores back in 2013 and earlier, and they weren’t among the ‘high-risk’ (read: high-retail) items that we occasionally got in. They were handled just like any other discounted merchandise.

    FYI: TJ Maxx and Marshall’s are owned by TJX, which is why you see a lot of merchandise duplication in the respective stores.

    Given what I know about some of the previous HR managers, I think Der Gropenfuhrer should apply for a DC HR job.

  18. 18.

    Botsplainer

    October 14, 2016 at 9:45 am

    @Barbara:

    Her husband is an heir, sure, but I’m wondering how much pressure he’s getting from his folks and the broader Jewish community to cut losses.

    Under New York law, she’s got practically no real claim to family money.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    October 14, 2016 at 9:46 am

    @Chyron HR:

    I think it’s both brand-building and immunity from prosecution. Plus, new stream of grifting, and more attention than the man could have dreamed of.

    @Scout211: Ivanka’s clothing has been in Marshall’s for a while. I have the dress she’s wearing in the photo (in black); got it at Marshall’s more than two years ago. Dress is nice fabric, well made and flattering, and thankfully not apparent it’s a Trump product.

  20. 20.

    redshirt

    October 14, 2016 at 9:46 am

    He’s gonna have to change his name back to Trumpf.

    Oh, it will be one of my little pleasures for the next ten years or so, to check in and see how poorly the Donald is doing.

  21. 21.

    Bruce K

    October 14, 2016 at 9:47 am

    @Soylent Green: I’d be happy if after this year, he retired to New York State taxpayer funded lodgings.

    Ossining’s nice in the summers, I hear.

  22. 22.

    Betty Cracker

    October 14, 2016 at 9:49 am

    New poll shows Clinton within the margin of error in Texas. TEXAS, y’all!

  23. 23.

    hovercraft

    October 14, 2016 at 9:49 am

    @Barbara:
    While Jared comes from actual money, his family is just as dodgy, what with his father trying to hire hookers to try to set someone up or some such thing.

    In 2005, following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Kushner was convicted of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering by attempting to silence his sister and brother-in-law by creating a sex tape of his brother-in-law with a prostitute. Chris Christie, then the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, negotiated a plea agreement with him and he was sentenced to two years in prison He has since been released

    So yes she’ll still be in the money, she’ll still be wallowing down at the level she’s accostomed to.

  24. 24.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    October 14, 2016 at 9:52 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Dress is nice fabric, well made and flattering, and thankfully not apparent it’s a Trump product.

    Maybe Ivanka missed out on the “garish & tacky tasteless” gene that the male Trumps seem to have?

  25. 25.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 9:53 am

    @Botsplainer: I assume that he keeps a low profile for that reason, though from what I have read, he is personally reserved and not inclined to be in the public eye too much, which is typical of most REAL real estate magnates in NYC. I realize she might not have a claim to his fortune, but she has enough of a claim to keep her from ever having to work at WalMart in the event that they did get divorced. Neither Ivana nor Marla seem to have been required to take low wage jobs to keep afloat.

  26. 26.

    Woodrowfan

    October 14, 2016 at 9:53 am

    when it was announced Trump was redoing the Old Post Office I heard a lot of “WTF?? Why HIM?” around here. The brand was more associated with tacky over the top than actual style. and, of course, TRUMP was in huge letters over the construction banners around the site.

  27. 27.

    hovercraft

    October 14, 2016 at 9:54 am

    @Botsplainer:
    Jared is no innocent casualty of war, it was a combination of Jared, Bossie and Bannon, who orchestrated the “press conference” with Bill Clinton’s accusers. He actually broke Sabbath on Saturday to plot their ambush before Sunday’s debate, and as I pointed up above his family is not exactly the picture of propriety.

  28. 28.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 9:54 am

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, but the down ballot polling is not as positive, or maybe it just hasn’t caught up yet. No time to get complacent! GOTV!

  29. 29.

    Soylent Green

    October 14, 2016 at 9:55 am

    What I meant is that there is a lot of money to be made fleecing the rubes. Assuming that his brownshirts remain loyal to him.

  30. 30.

    low-tech cyclist

    October 14, 2016 at 9:57 am

    Trump won’t notice it until next month because he’s kinda busy now, but after the election, he’ll wake up and realize that nobody’s gonna pay a plugged nickel to put his name on their business.

    And since that’s really all he’s got at this point, his descent into penury will be sweet to watch. He doesn’t know how to live like common people, so he’ll keep on blowing through money the way he does now until he doesn’t have a penny to his name.

  31. 31.

    Botsplainer

    October 14, 2016 at 9:57 am

    I did have a fun idea – remember TRUMP: The Game, and its short run?

    Do a new one, where each player is Donald. The goal is to get the lowest popular vote percentage and lowest “brand” Q score by making incendiary and outrageous remarks, and easily refutable lies.

    In this game, there is no electoral path to victory – you’re playing to lose.

  32. 32.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 14, 2016 at 9:57 am

    @p.a.: Spader was in Pretty in Pink, a John Hughes movie, but I think that was the only Hughes directed/written movie he appeared in.

  33. 33.

    low-tech cyclist

    October 14, 2016 at 9:59 am

    @Soylent Green: I think that’s an iffy assumption. I really expect them to either turn on him, or just leave him behind, once they realize he’s not their savior after all.

  34. 34.

    Pogonip

    October 14, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Enough of this frivolity. I want to know if Walter ever caught the squirrel!

    Also, I wish all U.S. readers a happy National Egg Day!

  35. 35.

    Soylent Green

    October 14, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Trump’s ego will never allow him to change the name on his properties, which has helped other businesses with bad reps — Comcast to Xfinity, Phillip Morris to Altria Group, etc.

  36. 36.

    bystander

    October 14, 2016 at 10:01 am

    As much as I’ve enjoyed the past week or so, Rude Pundit reminds us:

    It’d be great to take pleasure in this, except that it’s pleasure built on the agony of every woman he assaulted, every small business owner he dicked over, and everyone he ever treated like shit. Let’s just hope things don’t keep escalating at this rate. We’re not that far from him calling on his idiot hordes to become stormtroopers.

  37. 37.

    low-tech cyclist

    October 14, 2016 at 10:02 am

    Meanwhile, most Republican officeholders are still at least nominally supporting him. (Mostly doing the “I support him, but don’t ask me to defend anything he says or does” dodge, of course.) Obama’s right to hang him around their necks: at this point, his lunacy is out there in full view. This is a man who shouldn’t be running a lemonade stand, let alone the most powerful nation on earth.

  38. 38.

    Peale

    October 14, 2016 at 10:02 am

    Ah, so when he said a cabal of bankers and media types had gathered to destroy him, he didn’t mean Jews. He meant Jews AND a Mexican. So it’s not the same. He was probably referring to something Wikileaks picks us when it hacked the meeting notes of the Elders of Ensenada.

  39. 39.

    Keith P.

    October 14, 2016 at 10:05 am

    Idaho Statesman is endorsing Clinton. That’s got to sting. One member wouldn’t endorse Clinton, but they were unanimously against Trump.

  40. 40.

    danielx

    October 14, 2016 at 10:05 am

    @Soylent Green:

    True. Although changing “Comcast” to “Xfinity” hasn’t helped the organization’s rep too much that I’ve noticed; you can’t polish a turd.

  41. 41.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 10:06 am

    @hovercraft: Last night I started looking for information on the Kushner family and found a highly entertaining and devastating account of the recent history of the Kushner family that was triggered by Jared’s purported defense of his father in law from accusations of anti-semitism. The author was furious that Kushner used his Holocaust survivor heritage in defense of his father in law. I will give you a flavor:

    Jared and his wife, Ivanka Trump, are both the children of monumental assholes. . . Putting up with the antics of Donald Trump, then, is nothing new or challenging for Kushner, whose father actually served prison time for the sorts of things Donald Trump only brags about doing. . . Ivanka, by contrast, has proved her relative independence by helming her own successful fashion company and converting to Orthodox Judaism—which seems like the perfect way to keep her from eating dinner too often in her father’s home. . . All this explains how Jared Kushner could shamelessly tout his status as the descendant of Holocaust survivors to vouch for the honor of someone so undeserving of it as Donald Trump.

    The whole article is like this, while giving you the background information on how Kushner’s father came to the attention of Chris Christie when he was a prosecutor. You should read it just for the sheer bravura of the author’s anger as a Jew (it’s a Jewish publication) that someone like Kushner would become the quisling for someone like Trump.

    Just google “Kushner and Trump and Tablet.” It will come right up.

  42. 42.

    Chyron HR

    October 14, 2016 at 10:09 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    RED STATE PRIMARIES DON’T MATTER
    RED STATE PRIMARIES SHOULDN’T COUNT
    HASHTAG BERNIE OR BUST

  43. 43.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 10:11 am

    @bystander: Pleasure is not the same thing at all as a feeling of vindication and the tiniest beginning of feelings of relief that a mad man is unlikely to become president. I feel no pleasure at all in Trump’s squalor and indecency, and have not felt pleasure for a long time with the forces in the Republican Party that preceded it and made it possible.

  44. 44.

    Elizabelle

    October 14, 2016 at 10:15 am

    @Barbara: Voila. The link. Jewish journalism publication, The Tablet. Has several articles about Kushner, Trump, etc.

    Good slap, about Ivanka not eating so frequently at Dad’s house.

  45. 45.

    Immanentize

    October 14, 2016 at 10:19 am

    @Chyron HR: I’m having a tough day at work — that made me smile. Thank you!

  46. 46.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 10:20 am

    Good morning, everybody! I figure it’s late enough I can say that without stepping on rikyrah’s toes.

  47. 47.

    Elizabelle

    October 14, 2016 at 10:21 am

    @Barbara: That the GOP let this happen, that this is their base. This is Fox News world, and Limbaugh Land, and the conservatives taking over the GOP establishment.

    Needs examining, because it’s killing our democracy. If Trump was not such a buffoon, he has proven a fascist could do well. The GOP base is there, malignant, frustrated, and waiting.

    And it’s a sex scandal that’s bringing Trump down. Not his ideology, whatever it is today.

    We are not safe.

  48. 48.

    Rob in CT

    October 14, 2016 at 10:26 am

    edit: gah, naked link. Right, right, reposting properly.

  49. 49.

    WereBear

    October 14, 2016 at 10:26 am

    He shouldn’t have gone Full Hitler. Paraphrasing Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder:

    Never go Full Hitler!

  50. 50.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 14, 2016 at 10:28 am

    @Elizabelle:

    And it’s a sex scandal that’s bringing Trump down.

    As someone pointed out elsewhere, it’s not a sex scandal, it is assault allegations. Max Mosley had a sex scandal; Donald Trump is accused of assault.

  51. 51.

    Rob in CT

    October 14, 2016 at 10:28 am

    Saw this elsewhere and just have to share:

    Christianist Endtimes nonsense turned around.

  52. 52.

    gogol's wife

    October 14, 2016 at 10:28 am

    @bystander:

    I like this part: “In the last 24 hours, as the sad-but-oh-so-expected revelations of the number of women he assaulted and ogled grew, Trump has pushed his rhetoric from stupidly unhinged to Mussolini on a meth bender in a speeding Fiat barely clinging to curves on the roads of the Amalfi coast.” And the tangerine under the refrigerator.

  53. 53.

    Elizabelle

    October 14, 2016 at 10:32 am

    @Keith P.: A lot of their commenters applaud the Idaho Statesman’s Hillary endorsement. A few complain of having two lousy choices. And there are flying monkeys putting up wingnut rejoinders, but they’re getting batted down by commenters who live in the real world.

  54. 54.

    Rob in CT

    October 14, 2016 at 10:33 am

    @WereBear:

    [Tropic Thunder political commentary]
    Check it out:

    Nixon – went to China, EPA. Not full wingnut.
    Reagan – made nice with Gorby, reduced nukes. Not full wingnut.
    Poppy Bush – managed the end of the cold war, raised taxes, fought smart in the ME. Not full wingnut.

    You went full wingnut, son. Never go full wingnut.
    [/Tropic Thunder political commentary]

  55. 55.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 10:37 am

    @Rob in CT: baby bush expanded the safety net and made sure not to demonize Muslims while he set up an Orwellian surveillance and detention complex.

  56. 56.

    MattF

    October 14, 2016 at 10:40 am

    @WereBear: Yeah, the whole thing about his enemies being a cabal of international bankers rings several bells.

  57. 57.

    RaflW

    October 14, 2016 at 10:41 am

    Even before the presidential run, I read an piece on how part of the Trump hotel ‘cachet’ is marketing to low-travel middle class people for special occasions. Up to now the Trump brand has meant “what luxury looks like to people who don’t travel in actual luxury.” The over the top gilded everything, the acres of marble, etc.

    Actual rich people prefer places that are calm, discrete, and so expensive that honeymooning Akronites would never bother.

    So to that extent, I’d imagine the brand having to focus more on that demo, just among the 30-35% of the country that are Trumpers. Not classy, in other words. And also not likely to be lots of repeat biz/frequent flier types.

    Good luck Donnie. (I don’t even mean that).

  58. 58.

    Eric U.

    October 14, 2016 at 10:43 am

    @Rob in CT: @Major Major Major Major: Bush the lesser was the first republican administration staffed by people that had eaten their own dogfood. Before that, there were enough people that weren’t true believers involved that they could make things work. Reagan and father Bush were horrible, but they were competent enough to know that government should work. What we have now is republicans that want to destroy government, government bad, m’kay? No matter how essential the government might be to their own voters

  59. 59.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 10:44 am

    @Eric U.: true.

    @MattF: just several?

  60. 60.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 10:47 am

    @Gin & Tonic: The things that Trump says about Mexicans and others have been horrific but too many people can write them off as just a performance. It’s much harder to write off things that cannot be defended as mere performance. What is so devastating about the AH tape is its indisputed realness — not something created for the purpose of entertaining the masses (even if it is disgusting and revolting that racist rants would be found to be entertaining by many). If a tape of Trump exists in which he declared Marlee Matlin to be retarded or hurled an actual racial epithet while talking about or to African Americans, they would also be devastating. Before the AH tape surfaced, the things that perturbed voters the most about Trump was his impersonation of a disabled man and his statements about Judge Curiel. These also were raw footage so to speak — just too spontaneous and indicative of real sickness in his soul to be classified as all in good fun.

  61. 61.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 14, 2016 at 10:47 am

    Trump = Garbage
    Trump = Toxic
    Trump = Shit

    The brand is TOAST.

  62. 62.

    WereBear

    October 14, 2016 at 10:47 am

    @Rob in CT: Exactly.

    I was referencing from my current book to read, the recent Hitler biography. Trump’s speech yesterday sounded translated from the German.

  63. 63.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    October 14, 2016 at 10:50 am

    I love the Old Post Office, and I was very sad to see Trump defile it like that. Hope he has to give it up.

  64. 64.

    Mandalay

    October 14, 2016 at 10:50 am

    In England a soccer player has just had his conviction for rape overturned in a retrial. Why?…..

    The appeal was allowed after judges gave the go-ahead for two former sexual partners of the complainant to give explicit evidence in court about her sex life, a rare move that has been widely condemned by women’s support groups and campaigners.

    One group, Women Against Rape (WAR), told the Guardian the decision “drove a coach and horses” through legislation designed to protect victims and could stop other abused women coming forward for fear they would be quizzed about their sex lives.

    Trump supporters claim to be baffled over why women don’t immediately report sexual assault. Well this is what can the system can do to your life when you do report it.

  65. 65.

    skyweaver

    October 14, 2016 at 10:51 am

    That’s because the people that adore him aren’t highly educated, which correlates with income, which means they can’t afford to stay at his hotels or eat his awful steaks

  66. 66.

    WereBear

    October 14, 2016 at 10:52 am

    @Eric U.: Mr WereBear said it was called The Membrane. There was this invisible barrier where politics stopped at the border and the actual work of government got done. W broke it.

  67. 67.

    MattF

    October 14, 2016 at 10:54 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Given that Trump makes enemies wherever he goes, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to learn that his enemies include a cabal of international bankers. That said, it’s fair to note that bells are ringing all over the place.

  68. 68.

    Mandalay

    October 14, 2016 at 10:55 am

    @Rob in CT:

    Reagan – made nice with Gorby, reduced nukes. Not full wingnut.

    To which I’d add: cut and ran from Lebanon, raised taxes eleven times, secretly sold arms to Iran and tripled the deficit.

    On that record President Obama is more of a wingnut than Reagan.

  69. 69.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 14, 2016 at 10:56 am

    @MattF: Well, they’re pissed at him because he never repays his loans.

  70. 70.

    MJS

    October 14, 2016 at 10:59 am

    Just throwing this out there – Trump has threatened to sue the NYT. His wife has threatened to sue People magazine. However, there have been no law suits threatened against the NY Post (or is it Daily News, I forget), nor any other news outlet that has reported on his creepy statements regarding a 10 year old girl and, apparently, two 14 year olds. I’m going to read into that – he must know that those reports are true. I know they’re caught on tape, so any threat to sue would be laughable, but “laughable” has not stopped Trump so far.

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 10:59 am

    @MattF: when I was in high school we did sort of a re-enaction of the 1932 German elections. We were randomly assigned parties and I got the role of NSDAP propagandist. The speech I wrote and gave sounded like this.

    I should mention that this was a very unusual high school?

  72. 72.

    Corner Stone

    October 14, 2016 at 11:02 am

    Trump is going to provide evidence that Obama is not a US Citizen!
    Oh wait, he says he’s going to provide proof that the allegations against him are totally not true.

  73. 73.

    Joel

    October 14, 2016 at 11:04 am

    @p.a.: Fast Times was Amy Heckerling. It stands out because it was much, much, better than any Hughes movie.

  74. 74.

    Botsplainer

    October 14, 2016 at 11:04 am

    @Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):

    My former assistant went to the same private school with her in New York. Said they were smoking buddies and that she liked Ivanka.

  75. 75.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 11:06 am

    @MJS: He is just blowing smoke against the NYT. I am guessing that Melania would assert that Ms. Stoyneff was never alone with Trump because Melania was there and never went upstairs to change her clothes. In other words, she is willing to lie on his behalf. She also went on tv to argue that Obama’s birth certificate might have been forged. I don’t know her true feelings about these incidents, or whether she is being bulled or threatened to do it, but there is no question that she is his enabler.

  76. 76.

    phoebes from highland park

    October 14, 2016 at 11:07 am

    I recently moved back to Chicago after having lived elsewhere for 8 or so years. To reacquaint myself with the city, I took an Architectural Foundation river cruise for 90 minutes. (The cruises are a fabulous introduction to our marvelous architecture.) Anyway, I was shocked to see how gorgeous the Trump Tower really is – except, of course, for the mile-high letters on the outside of the building. It’s beautifully placed on it’s oddly shaped site near Michigan Avenue and really is a jewel in the architectural crown of Chicago.

    I’d love to see the inside of the building, but won’t — until they take those mile-high letters down…

  77. 77.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 11:08 am

    @Barbara: Melania asked for three specific details to be removed, basically saying that Melania is not friends with this woman and never ran into her on the street. She’s not challenging the actual story.

  78. 78.

    RaflW

    October 14, 2016 at 11:08 am

    @Mandalay:

    President Obama is more of a wingnut than Reagan

    In some ways, Obama is more conservative than Reagan. I mean that in terms of temperament, personal outlook, and in ways that the word has had useful meaning before being totally trashed by a bunch of jerkwads reaching back from today, thru Reagan, all the way to the 1964 right-wing rout-and-reset.

  79. 79.

    Droppy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:11 am

    @RaflW: If I had a band it would be called the “honeymooning Akronites” – kind of a perfect demographic phrase. But, even as a not-well-traveled, middle-income, middle-western, middle-aged white guy, I can at least see an obvious con man and know that anything associated with his brand is bound to be a cheat in some way or another. So why do the people who want him to be president not see that, too? I’m no smarter than them. You’d think they’d at least have the self-interest not to turn their votes over to a charlatan, even if they like his racist know-nothing politics. I don’t get it.

  80. 80.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:11 am

    Burying the Brand

    Tramp the dirt down.

  81. 81.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 11:13 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Well, okay, but being classified as someone’s friend is not defamatory and highly subject to the opinion of the speaker. The meeting in the street is a fact, but whether it happened or not is almost immaterial. Even if it did not, saying that it did is inaccurate but not defamatory. It’s also the kind of thing that can so easily be forgotten that it would be hard to prove that it did not happen.

  82. 82.

    catclub

    October 14, 2016 at 11:16 am

    @Droppy:

    I’m no smarter than them. You’d think they’d at least have the self-interest not to turn their votes over to a charlatan, even if they like his racist know-nothing politics. I don’t get it.

    Me, too. Other people are fundamentally mysterious.

  83. 83.

    hovercraft

    October 14, 2016 at 11:17 am

    @Corner Stone:
    We’ll get evidence of the following the Friday before the election:
    – The findings of the investigators sent to Hawaii.
    – That all of the allegations against him are false, and all of those women wanted him.
    – That he has paid Federal Income taxes for the last 18 years.
    – That Hillary is a crook.
    – That he is the most successful businessman in the history of the world.

    When we all see this proof, we will all bow down before him and he will win the election by the margin shown in Nate Silvers men only voting map, that Uday or Qusay tweeted out. Just see if he doesn’t.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    October 14, 2016 at 11:18 am

    Just occurred to me, if TIME keeps following the progression on its Trump covers (from “meltdown” in Sept to “total meltdown in Oct), then based on how things are going with Orangemandias these days, come Nov 1st it’ll be a solid black cover. Caption: “The Abyss”

  85. 85.

    Rob in CT

    October 14, 2016 at 11:18 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I nearly included Bush the Lesser, and those were exactly the things I was going to reference for him.

    @Mandalay:

    Those things are wingnutty, though. They pretend otherwise, but to blow up the budget, fuck up militarily, break the law – these are exactly the things wingnuts do. So those examples undercut “not full wingnut” for Reagan. So I left ’em out. Also, too, brevity.

  86. 86.

    C.S.Strowbridge

    October 14, 2016 at 11:18 am

    After the election, Mark Cuban should offer to buy the property from Trump at 10 cents on the dollar, then re-brand it the Obama hotel.

  87. 87.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 11:18 am

    @Barbara: I was just telling you what she said to People.

  88. 88.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:18 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled:

    I love the Old Post Office, and I was very sad to see Trump defile it like that. Hope he has to give it up.

    Doesn’t he have a history of buying historic buildings and then defacing them? I seem to recall him buying an old art deco building and then having his workmen remove and destroy some decorative sculptures.

  89. 89.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 14, 2016 at 11:21 am

    The Guardian wrote an article the other day on his properties in the UK – they’re all losing money, which means he’s paying zero in taxes there as well…but they’re losing money is the big news. The new hotel is certainly losing money. I’m not sure which of his properties is making money but I’m starting to wonder if he’s not skating very close to another bankruptcy. He’s facing massive fines for self dealing if the IRS decides to pursue the Foundation stuff…and potentially massive penalties associated with Trump University if that case goes against him. That’s a lot of potentially serious setbacks unless he’s actually worth somewhere near what he says he is. We’re talking several hundreds of millions potentially. For a guy whose worth $9 billion that’s still relative chump change, but for a guy whose only worth, say, a few hundred mill, well, it spells financial doom.

  90. 90.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:22 am

    Here’s a great one of Bill and Hillary, back in the day

  91. 91.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 11:23 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled: I admit that I have not been inside, but I look at it every day from my window and at least from the outside, it has not been defaced. The building was at high risk of being defaced because it has not really served an actual purpose for a long time. The choice to develop it as a hotel was inspired, and was made by the GSA (I believe). In truth, that is what has happened to most of the similarly old and beautiful but essentially useless structures that people love but don’t quite know what to do with.

  92. 92.

    Hal

    October 14, 2016 at 11:23 am

    Let’s just say Trump gets another celebrity apprentice after the election. I can’t even imagine who would be the competitors. Dinesh D’Souza, Omarosa, and Alex Jones? With special guest Tom Brady.

  93. 93.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:23 am

    @Barbara: “All this useless beauty” – Elvis Costello

  94. 94.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 11:24 am

    @Major Major Major Major: It just doesn’t seem like much of a basis for a lawsuit. I am sure the attorneys at People just roll their eyes when celebrities inform them of these kinds of perceived inaccuracies.

  95. 95.

    hovercraft

    October 14, 2016 at 11:24 am

    @Barbara:
    Last night Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out that her lawyer in the letter is only contesting three very specific lines in the People article.
    1. That she ran into Melania outside Trump Tower and Melania asked why she had made herself scarce.
    2. That they had a friendly chat and that she gave baby Barron’s foot a friendly squeeze.
    3. That they were friends of a sort. ( I’m not sure about #3, but something along these lines.)

    As he pointed out she wasn’t disputing the meat and potatoes of the article, just the stuff about her being friends or well acquainted with the author. So is she conceding that he attacked her, and if not why not contest the allegations instead of disputing minor irrelevant details about a meeting that supposedly took place much later than the harassment/ assault?

  96. 96.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:25 am

    @Hal: drumpf on “Dancing With The Stars”? Rick Perry danced on the show, and they’re talking about getting Billy Bush. Why can’t herr drumpf join that fraternity of undesirables?

  97. 97.

    Jeffro

    October 14, 2016 at 11:26 am

    And once again, the brighter lights of the Old Dominion shine through…good for them, standing tall and “…trying to provide a voice for someone who might be closet supporters of Trump. Other people that are a little worried to speak out because of possible persecution.”

  98. 98.

    hueyplong

    October 14, 2016 at 11:26 am

    This thread is what schadenfreude is all about.

    Based on the things we know about Trump, whose two most intense qualities seem to be narcissism and misogyny, I’d be a little surprised if he didn’t off himself if we seem him appearing to be especially low energy in the immediate aftermath of the hoped-for-but-not-yet-certain blowout loss to the right wing’s all time Uber Bitch.

    So I’ll go ahead and be first here to go on the record as predicting suicide (though not about the timing of the self-inflicted wound). No reason for the Third Reich analogies to go begging with regard to the final act.

    P.S. This would allow RWNJs to spend 4/8 years screaming that Hitlery had him killed.

  99. 99.

    slag

    October 14, 2016 at 11:27 am

    I can quite literally think of no one more deserving to have their brand in tatters—other than the GOP itself.

    As President Obama noted, Trump didn’t build the GOP, he just put his name on it. The moldy, rotting shell of a building was all theirs.

    BTW Love that Obama rant so so much. Very base-motivating and filled with all the Interweb memes (SHOCKED!).

  100. 100.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 14, 2016 at 11:27 am

    @germy: That was the Bonwit Teller building that he tore down to build Trump Tower. You can find plenty on-line about the sculptures and other artwork being destroyed.

  101. 101.

    MJS

    October 14, 2016 at 11:29 am

    @Barbara: Oh, I know he’s just blowing smoke at the NYT. My point was he hasn’t bothered to blow the same smoke regarding the allegations (or, in actuality, the facts proven through recordings) that he is a creep that ogles pre-teens. I believe the caption on the NY tabloid (again, not sure if it’s the Post or Daily News) was, “He Had His Eye on a 10 Year Old”. If you’re going to be sue-happy, that right there should be a sure-fire lawsuit. But it’s not, so I’m left to conclude that he is in agreement that he did, in fact, have his eye on a 10 year old.

  102. 102.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 11:29 am

    @Barbara: the analysis I read noted that the corrections/retractions she asked for were the only times she was really in the story, so it sounded more like a “leave me the hell out of this” move than any sort of ass-covering. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s gone after this is over.

  103. 103.

    Rob in CT

    October 14, 2016 at 11:29 am

    @slag:

    He seriously took the gloves off.

  104. 104.

    MJS

    October 14, 2016 at 11:32 am

    @MJS: I would also add that his derision of the looks of the People reporter is an implicit admission that he does force himself on women, i.e., his claim is that he wouldn’t have done it because she wasn’t good looking enough, not because he doesn’t do those types of things. The only conclusion to be drawn from that omission is that had she been better looking, he would have done what she claimed he did.

  105. 105.

    slag

    October 14, 2016 at 11:35 am

    @Rob in CT: Revealing full-sized man hands opening an extra large can of whoop ass on the GOP.

  106. 106.

    debit

    October 14, 2016 at 11:45 am

    @Pogonip: Not yet, but he is determined to keep trying.

  107. 107.

    ET

    October 14, 2016 at 11:46 am

    He may have gotten into it for the Trump Brand but his ego has gotten in his way and I do think this is hurting his brand.

    I suspect that some of the people he does business with will want to stay away for awhile and if any of the golf courses and hotels don’t do well he isn’t necessarily going to get help. Add to that any failure of his going forward will be scrutinized in way the past ones weren’t. He isn’t just hurting the brand I think he is hurting his ability to brag about his business successes.

    He may have some interest in using the loss as a springboard to start up some media empire like has been bandied about, but an empire has to have people to rule and while he has fans, minions, and brain dead zombies, I doubt it is enough to keep it going indefinitely. While I would compare him to Beck or Palin for a lot of reasons, both of their uber niche media “empires” don’t seem to have gone well – I assume for lack of eyeballs/ears. Sure he is bigger than both put together, but that kind of universe feeds on itself and sometimes once the heat of the moment (i.e. the election) has passed many of Trump’s supporters will go home and live their lives. Other wills stick for awhile but even some of those will get tired and fade away. Can any effort keep people or can it gain enough to make up losses?

  108. 108.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 14, 2016 at 11:48 am

    @hueyplong: It’ll just look like a suicide…but Putin will be behind it. He can’t let his bought and paid for Manchurian candidate fail, or fail to pay him back the money owed, and live to tell about it. That’s my conspiracy theory and there’s at least as much “there” there as anything the RWNJs believe.

  109. 109.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 11:48 am

    According to NPR right now, sexual assault and rape helpline use and google searches are through the roof since a week ago.

  110. 110.

    lgerard

    October 14, 2016 at 11:48 am

    Let’s not forget that right after the election we have the “trump university” trial coning up.

    This will be a bonanza of trump information, none of it flattering to trump.

  111. 111.

    sukabi

    October 14, 2016 at 11:49 am

    @Chyron HR: could be both.

  112. 112.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:50 am

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    It’ll just look like a suicide

    Just what we need… a martyr.

  113. 113.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 14, 2016 at 11:53 am

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: “it’s weird,” the doctor will say, “I’ve never seen somebody off themselves with polonium before. But there’s a first time for everything.”

  114. 114.

    germy

    October 14, 2016 at 11:56 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    “it’s weird,” the doctor will say,

    Dr. Bornstein?

  115. 115.

    Barbara

    October 14, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: It must be very wounding. It’s humiliating enough to even know that your SO has cheated, but to have that knowledge a matter of public discussion must be sheer agony. Hillary Clinton’s ability to endure that level of shame is one of the things that has made me admire her.

  116. 116.

    catclub

    October 14, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    @MJS:

    The only conclusion to be drawn from that omission is that had she been better looking, he would have done what she claimed he did

    Rape and sexual assault are usually about power, not sex. he would like you to believe they are only about sex and attraction.

  117. 117.

    redshirt

    October 14, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    @Rob in CT:

    [Tropic Thunder political commentary]
    Check it out:

    Nixon – went to China, EPA. Not full wingnut.
    Reagan – made nice with Gorby, reduced nukes. Not full wingnut.
    Poppy Bush – managed the end of the cold war, raised taxes, fought smart in the ME. Not full wingnut.

    You went full wingnut, son. Never go full wingnut.
    [/Tropic Thunder political commentary]

    LOL. Well done.

    I’m gonna watch that movie again. It’s hilarious on like three different levels.

    If you haven’t seen Tropic Thunder, please do so ASAP. It’s a comedy classic.

  118. 118.

    catclub

    October 14, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    @Barbara: Hillary Clinton has been taking one for the team since she changed her name, glasses and appearance – about 40 years ago – to help Bill and her do more politically.

  119. 119.

    Frankensteinbeck

    October 14, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    @Elizabelle:
    I think it’s spite. He’s mad Obama embarrassed him at the White House Correspondents Dinner. He is a man of thin skin and long, obsessive grudges.

    @Mandalay:
    It should be noted, Reagan raised taxes, but also lowered them, with the result that he bigly shifted the tax burden from the rich to the poor. Definitely wingnutty.

  120. 120.

    smedley the uncertain

    October 14, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    @Bruce K: Of course if he wins, he’ll be the first ‘billionaire’ to move into Public Housing recently vacated by a black family.

  121. 121.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 14, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    @Barbara: Ivanka seems to have kept a lower profile since the video surfaced, unless I’m just missing something.

  122. 122.

    Seanly

    October 14, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    I’d seen some analysis on Mother Jones that there was no way that the Trump Post Office could make any money. Just terrible terms, terrible. Will fail bigly.

  123. 123.

    Bubblegum Tate

    October 14, 2016 at 1:02 pm

    @hovercraft:

    That all of the allegations against him are false, and all of those women wanted him.

    One wingnut I know has been rather hysterically insisting that these women about whome Trump was talking with Billy Bush aren’t just random victims, they’re GROUPIES, you see, so they were totally offering themselves up to ol’ Donnie, and he took what was being offered, so what’s the big deal?

    She (and yeah, said wingnut is a she) also doesn’t have the firmest grasp on the concept of consent. Shocking but true.

  124. 124.

    Bubblegum Tate

    October 14, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    Oh, I would also like to note that “The Brand” is the term the Aryan Nation prison gang uses to refer to itself. Brings an extra layer to this post, doesn’t it?

  125. 125.

    Shana

    October 14, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    @Botsplainer: Ivanka’s husband is Orthodox which tends to skew Republican.

  126. 126.

    sukabi

    October 14, 2016 at 2:11 pm

    @germy: it was a fantastic death, the very best. Mr. Drumpf has slipped the earthly coil like no other before him.

  127. 127.

    tkrr

    October 14, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    @danielx: Does anyone actually call it “Xfinity” to begin with? It’s still Comcast to me, same as I (and I presume most other people) still call FedexOffice Kinko’s.

  128. 128.

    Porlock Junior

    October 15, 2016 at 12:21 am

    @MJS:
    You know who *else* said that so-and-so wasn’t good looking enough?
    Or, more exactly, “He was so ugly” in answer to lawyer’s question whether he had kissed a particular guy.
    Yeah, Oscar Wilde. That story is tragic. Don’t we look forward to its repetition as farce when Trump House of Cards(tm) collapses?

  129. 129.

    Porlock Junior

    October 15, 2016 at 12:32 am

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: A very nice forward conspiracy theory (term I think I just coined). I’ve bookmarked it for reference some months from now. Also, entirely plausible.

    And Trump could go down in history as the 21st-century Ivar Kreuger. Or the comparison might be reversed, meaning that he will have overtopped the famous Krueger — a big Win!

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