January 6th: Trump commits branding Seppuku

[MeDotOrg]

Donald Trump says that his own worth is subjective, and fluctuates. This year promises to reveal more of what is objective. But give a thought to to what has happened to the subjective branding worth of Donald Trump, and his ability to survive.

I've said that Trump lives at the intersection of narcissim and capitalism, where he sells himself as a brand. The Apprentice saved him from financial ruin, and taught him how to market himself to a larger audience. This is the reality about branding: It is emphemeral. Today's hot new fragrance is tomorrow's turbine fuel. Forget about Presidential politics for a moment. If you are a brand, what would you do to restore the confidence of consumers and investors, vis a vis the inflammatory speech of January 6th? You would be properly chaste, calm and reassuring. You would do everything to restore the idea that your brand is something that others will be proud to partner with.

Trump has done the exact opposite. Trump has appealed to the segment of his audience that is most likely to make him unappealing to the other segments. When he leaned on Tommy Tuberville, he lost Bill Belechick. He lost the PGA. He's lost the manufacturer's associations. Think about Trump's position in the hospitality industry. Forget about Covid. How many groups will consider having a convention on a Trump property?

Trump needs cash fast, and Sheldon Adelson just died. I just don't see his revenue stream from MAGA hats, skimming defense funds, Covid-ravaged resort properties, hotels, office and residential buildings being large enough to cover the nut on his loans. There are virtually no reputable options left. He has $421 million dollars in personally guaranteed loans, $300 million of which come due in the next 4 years. Given the projected lengthty recovery of hospitality and tourism in a *hopefully* post-Covid world, Trump would have a Herculean task if he left the White House with a shiny reputation. Given what he has done to himself, I would say the chances of financial survival are bleak, and that's before any talk of criminal actions. Given his bleak financial future, and the prospect of facing numerous potential criminal indictments, how many banks will be willing to loan him money?

[MeDotOrg]

delete (sorry - I keep hitting the quote button instead of edit)

[canpakes]

No worries. Not too soon after January 20, we’ll see the birth of the Trump ‘News’ Network (as fully ironic a thing as will ever be named on Earth), and Donny will fleece 20 million MAGA rubes minimum $7.99 each per month. That’ll keep his bank account flush in cash appropriated from suckers for a few more years, at least.

[MeDotOrg]

I agree with you. Trump will do his damndest to monetize his movement. And he might forestall the end for a year. What is the Trump brand now? He's a mixture Alex Jones and Pat Roberson writ large. But whatever positive appeal he still has with his base is far outweighed by the revulsion most people associate with his Presidency and therefore his personal brand. I'll be curious to see what a membership sells for at Mar a Lago in a year or two.

Before his Presidency, Trump enjoyed financial support from legitimate institutions outside of his bubble. Those days are gone.

[Moksha]

Was the thread title supposed to be January 6th?

[MeDotOrg]

Was the thread title supposed to be January 6th?

Yeah, getting senile...thanks for being gentle...

Weird, after writing this last night I woke up this morning to find Deutsche Bank has severed all ties with Trump.

[Chap]

I woke up this morning to find DeutcheBank has severed all ties with Trump.

Except that he still owes them $340 million, due in tranches payable in 2023 and 2024, and personally guaranteed by Trump.

There is that. So he'll probably still be getting Christmas cards from them for a while yet.

[MeDotOrg]

Except that he still owes them $340 million, due in tranches payable in 2023 and 2024, and personally guaranteed by Trump.

There is that. So he'll probably still be getting Christmas cards from them for a while yet.

If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem.

- J. Paul Getty

[Chap]

Except that he still owes them $340 million, due in tranches payable in 2023 and 2024, and personally guaranteed by Trump.

There is that. So he'll probably still be getting Christmas cards from them for a while yet.

If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem.

- J. Paul Getty

Mr Getty was quite correct; hence my comment about Christmas cards. But, on the other hand, I think it is clear that Deutsche Bank will not be actively seeking to invest further funds in Mr Trump's activities, and since they were his only willing lender in recent years (all those bankruptcies were just too discouraging for the others), he will have to manage without bank loans in future, which may not be easy given that so many of his businesses are losing money.

And many of them are likely to lose even more money as his brand goes down the toilet. I mean, what representatives of visiting foreign organisations will want to stay in his Washington hotel when he is no longer in the White House? That place is now a wasting asset, and so are quite a few others. Mar a Lago membership will certainly not be much sought after, at least not at the current price. And so on.

[Some Schmo]

I don't think Trump really needs to worry about money. I think he'll be getting free room and board for life behind bars. Hope so, anyway. Don't know anyone who deserves it more.