Trump’s Business Revenue Was Down 40 Percent Even Before He Encouraged Storming the Capitol

Donald Trump is now a plain old businessman again and the post-presidential economy he created for himself is not looking so good. The pandemic has put a hurt on the aspects of life that Trump derives cash from, namely hospitality, tourism, and travel. Hotels and clubs, along with urban real estate, aren’t exactly growth industries at the moment. Trump’s financial disclosure forms on his way out of office confirmed as much, showing revenue at Trump’s properties was down $120 million last year, a nearly 40 percent drop from 2019. And then there’s the little question of the Capitol insurrection earlier this month. The violent attack by Trump supporters and Trump’s role in fomenting the march on the national legislature has made Trump himself even more toxic than he previously was. So much so that now even his lawyers and bankers are jumping ship.

Trump’s disclosure included revenue for 47 different companies under the Trump Organization umbrella, including his hotels and golf clubs, and showed a revenue drop of 38 percent over the past year. “Those losses were worst in the places where Trump could least afford it: His Washington hotel, which has a $170 million loan outstanding, saw revenue drop more than 60 percent. His Doral resort in Miami—also carrying a huge debt load—saw a 44 percent drop,” according to the Washington Post. “But there were also sharp declines at three of Trump’s most important properties: his D.C. hotel, his Doral resort in Florida, and his Turnberry resort in Scotland. Their combined revenue fell from $149 million in 2019 to $71 million last year, a drop of more than half.” Revenue at Mar-a-Lago was up 13 percent and Trump’s online store, used to hawk Trump-branded schlock, doubled its income, to just under $2 million, which is small potatoes for a business that has $400 million in outstanding loans coming due.

The former president’s already choppy financial situation is set to be made worse by his conduct on Jan. 6. The Capitol attack spooked sponsors and vendors, like the P.G.A. which announced it was pulling its golf tournament from Trump’s New Jersey club, prompting others to cut ties with the Trump Organization. Perhaps most telling of Trump’s diminished standing is that his lawyers and bankers, two industries not easily shaken by bad behavior when a buck is on the line, are running for the hills. Since the Capitol attack, three of the four banks holding the largest deposits of Trump cash, have cut ties. BankUnited announced Thursday it was closing its remaining Trump accounts, as has Signature Bank and Professional Bank. The remaining bank, Capital One, has not commented publicly.

Three law firms have also reportedly stopped doing business with Trump, including Morgan Lewis, which has handled Trump’s taxes since before his run for office and stood by him as he lied and obfuscated about his taxes. Two other firms, Seyfarth Shaw and Alston & Bird, have also reportedly cut ties with Trump.

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