Only unicorns and rainbow stories for Donald Trump, please.
The real estate mogul reportedly threatened a reporter for the Washington Post that he would sue if the paper decided to run a story about his Taj Mahal casino, which went bankrupt in 1991.
The news outlet reported that Trump used junk bonds to raise some $675 million to finish building the casino in Atlantic City. This happened despite the fact that the businessman had been very critical of junk bonds, or high-critical loans, saying his reputation in the business world is enough to win him low interest rates. According to the Post, Trump told the state Casino Control Commission back in 1988 that his reputation as a “dealmaker” will have bankers “lining up to lend him money at prime rates.”
The newspaper got ahold of transcripts of the hearing, in which Trump testified: “I’m talking about banking institutions, not these junk bonds, which are ridiculous. The funny thing with junk bonds is that junk bonds [are] what really made the companies junk.”
Long story short: the prime rate loans that Trump boasted of didn’t materialize, forcing the businessman to turn to the junk bonds that he once said “what really made the companies junk.” Six months later, the Taj defaulted on the loan payments, and then filed for bankruptcy in July 1991.
But in his interview with the Post about the casino, Trump said: “I didn’t want to have any personal liability, so I used junk bonds. I accept the blame for that, but I would do it again.”
In addition, the real estate mogul said Taj Mahal’s bankruptcy did not reflect on him personally, and delivered a word of warning to the newspaper.
“This was not personal. This was a corporate deal,” Trump told the Post. “If you write this one, I’m suing you.”
The Washington Post ran story on Monday evening. Your move, Mr. Trump.
