In his ghostwritten 1987 bestseller The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump delivers his version of the American Dream. Get as much as you can for yourself. There’s always someone out there who’s stupider than you. Any attention is better than none. Promise people the Earth even if you know you can never deliver. Paint yourself orange and glue what’s left of your hair to your head. This is business as a macho willy waving contest. So much so you suspect The Donald is deeply insecure about the size of his own.
But maybe we should have read between the lines better. For the real message is: “Always let someone else take the hit.” After all, it wasn’t Trump who was left out of pocket when his hotels and casinos six times filed for bankruptcy between 1991 and 2009 due to an inability to meet scheduled payments. It was his creditors. That’s a business style The Donald has taken into his presidency. After the Trump Plaza and the Trump Tower, we now have the Trump Toilet. To flush away Ukraine.
