His final debate performance this week was a bust, with him snarling that Clinton was “such a nasty woman” and gritting his teeth as he angrily ripped pages off a notepad when it was over. He is under fire from all quarters for refusing to say he will honor the election results if he loses, while 10 women have now come forward accusing him of groping or kissing them without consent. The capper to Trump’s bad stretch came Thursday night, when a ballroom full of New York City’s glitterati booed him as he gave remarks attacking Clinton at a charity roast.
I wonder how many of his staffers are now worried about being paid. In September, the Post reported many quit for non-payment in August. Vanity Fair reported the same. In June, Talking Points Memo reported Trump hadn't paid his top ten staffers.
In June, Vanity Fair reported on a USA Today investigation that found thousands of complaints had been filed by employees and contractors over Trump's non-payment of fees.
According to a USA Today investigation, Trump has received at least 3,500 official complaints for failing to pay employees, contractors, and other business affiliates money owed. The paper also found at least 60 lawsuits, 24 instances where Trump failed to pay overtime and minimum wage, and countless out-of-court settlements. Among those to whom Trump owed money, according to USA Today: dishwashers, bartenders, painters, real-estate brokers, and ironically, even his own lawyers. In 1990, a casino commission audit of the Trump Taj Mahal, then about to open, revealed that Trump owed an astounding $69.5 million to 253 subcontractors. Marty Rosenberg, the owner of a plate glass company who was owed $1.5 million, said that he was only able to recover 70 cents on the dollar for his work, and that he was one of the lucky ones. “Yes, there were a lot of other companies. . . Yes, some did not survive,” he told USA Today.
In June, there were claims, according to CBS, that he paid female staffers less than male staffers.
Who does get paid by Trump? Trump Tower, for renting campaign space to Trump.
And of course, his children. In August, VICE news reported:
Republican Donald Trump has so far paid $7.7 million in campaign contributions to his own companies and children, according to a filing with the Federal Elections Commission.
The New Republic reported two months ago on campaign expenses that went to Trump, his kids or his businesses. So did the Wall St. Journal .
“$15 million, or about 17 percent of the roughly $90 million spent through July—paid to companies linked to himself or his children, or to reimburse their travel expenses.”
According to his October, 2016 FEC filing, Trump burned through $70 million in September, up from $29 million in August and $18 million in July (and lesser amounts before that.) Where did it all go? (Numbers obtained through the FEC.)
