Donald Trump has taken a dive on most of his hotels, forcing him to dip into his inheritance and "The Apprentice" profits to "shore them up," according to one expert.
Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on "Deadline: White House" along with Donald Trump's niece, Dr. Mary Trump, Ph.D., New York Times reporter Susanne Craig observed the sunny description of at least two of the former president's hotels — Trump National Doral in Miami and the Old Post Office in D.C. — that were mentioned as "successful" during daughter Ivanka Trump's testimony today in Trump's $250 million fraud trial.
"We heard in court today a lot you know Ivanka is talking about how successful these projects were," Craig explained. "And that's a word we hear a lot."
"We hear other adjectives about just how great these properties are, and I'm not disputing they weren't; the renovation itself in that building is a huge success, but it's not a financial success."
Craig, who back in 2020 co-wrote a deep dive into Trump's tax returns, discussed how the numbers flying around about profits fail to show some of the losses.
She pointed to the Old Post Office property in Washington D.C. that sold in 2022 and had Trump pocket $126 million and how that number fails to show more glaring ones.
"What you don't see is being that is that every year he lost money," she said. "He lost $74 million just in operating it."
"He had to put in millions of dollars into the investment and additional capital along the way."
Putting it bluntly, Craig said the president's businesses for the most part "don't make money" save for a few successes in the former president's real estate portfolio.
Craig said: "His business don't make money and he's having to shore them up."
That means he's been forced to buttress the properties that have been taking dives with other means of income.
"Any of those that has made money — there's a few that are successful — that money and also the money that he made from 'The Apprentice,' and also the money he inherited from Fred [his father] a long time ago... it's been used to shore up these money-losing investments he makes."
She then added, "He buys these for the most part they are white elephants."
