I would suggest, with a fair amount of seriousness, that the worst consequence Trump has ever suffered, the most impactful negative outcome directly caused by his own actions, is the dwindling number of banking institutions willing to enter into financing agreements with him. It became harder and harder for him to arrange backing for his high-flying business shenanigans, and ultimately sent him begging in the financial shadows. It was, I’m sure, a humiliation to be turned away from one major bank after another. He also seems wholly unaware that getting into bed with these unregulated overseas financiers (this is a euphemism) will, in the long run, be his undoing. And that will lead to the first major crisis of his post-Presidential career, when the Germans foreclose on the entirety of his global real-estate empire, leaving him only with whatever liquidity he’s managed to set aside in various island havens. It will be glorious.
I look forward to the day when those five all-caps letters are stripped from the tower currently blighting Chicago’s riverfront (along with all his other properties).
The best part about this scenario is that it can’t be thwarted by Republicans at any level of government. It’s just business, baby.
They should offer to send the letters back to Trump, but forget to send the ‘T’.
I’m sure he’s had to rip some people off in order to “earn” a little bread so that he could pay a settlement to some other people he ripped off.
Not that he (or I) gives one shit about Melania, but I would like to see her bail on him 1/21/21. I wonder how many ghost writers are angling for a book deal?
It really helps me to sleep at night thinking that he was grievously emotionally wounded by the impeachment, even if he wasn’t convicted and removed.
Even a smooth brain like his can comprehend what a big deal that is and how, despite his crowing, his name will be mud when the Big Macs catch up to him.
Sorry, no. His own personal Ministry of Truth won’t let him comprehend anything which even suggests that he isn’t the bestest, favoritest president ever.
How about just the “P”?
I’m sure he isn’t too happy with DJT Jr., Eric and Tiffany. He only seems to like Ivanka.
He may have had to pay lots of fines and settlements. It’s been said that when people who he’s sued fight back, he settles.
To Trump’s way of doing business, that’s all just normal business expenses.
No, he wasn’t wounded at all by the impeachment.
He doesn’t even understand what impeachment is.
To him, it was just another settlement, like paying cash to Stormy Daniels. It’s over, and there are no consequences for him, so he won.
This is what I wonder about–liquidity. Would it be possible to leave Trump in a situation where he has no access to money? Not even a 20 dollar bill to pay for a hamburger at McDonalds.
“Many people have said there’s no way I could have died. UNFAIR!”
But he’s been in this same situation before: owing shit tons of money actually hurts the banks as much as the borrower, if not more. They don’t want to just foreclose on it without collecting some of it back. In Trump’s case, his name and his brand were worth something, so if I understand and recall it correctly, he was able to put his name on properties even if he didn’t actually own shares. I don’t see foreign banks simply walking away from him. He also has properties which can be used to launder money.
Strictly my opinion, but what will be Trump’s undoing is when corrupt foreign politicians or other power brokers decide that he’s more of a pain in the ass than he’s worth and cut their ties. When that will happen is anyone’s guess, but perhaps there’s a thaw in US-Russia relations and post-Putin Russia decides it’s in their best interests to do business with the US – that would be a nightmare for Trump world. Donald could be dead by that point, but his children would certainly feel it. Not holding my breath though.
I don’t think you can separate “consequences” for Trump from his personality.
As a result of the lifestyle Trump has led, his moral and ethical code of conduct, and his personality generally, Trump has been embroiled in lawsuits his entire life, has paid millions in settlements, is estranged from many family members, is loathed and despised by most of the country. Most people would consider this a “consequence”. But I don’t think Trump does. That’s part of his personality, and is the life he’s used to leading.
OTOH, Trump is obsessed with petty insults and slights and can brood over them for years, is extremely bothered by any hint of himself showing weakness or being a “loser”, and he suffers a lot from these. But he has brought many insults and slights on himself, and caused himself to lose an eminently winnable election. These are part of his personality too.
In sum, if you want to look at normal “consequences”, then Trump has gotten a lot of these. If you want to look at things that cause him to suffer, then Trump has a lot of these too. Just that they’re not necessarily the same things.
Looking forward, it’s hard to handicap. On the one hand, whatever was before for Trump is gone forever, I would think. I don’t think he can ever again be a guy who could attract a premium for having his name on a building or resort or such, or could ever have a politically neutral entertainment career. I think at this point all his eggs are in the MAGA basket, which is a position he’s never been in other than when he was also POTUS. I think he can milk that for a while, but the question is how much staying power that has. Hard to say. (Closest comparison might be Sara Palin.)
I just read this in The Atlantic and didn’t know where to post it, but it carries through the thought Fotheringay-Phipps just expressed.
In his own way, Donald Trump is a member of this stateless class—not in terms of personal taste and private behavior, which would repel many other members, but in terms of outlook and consequence. He is American by birth, yet has paid more in taxes to other countries than he has to the U.S. Treasury (and not very much anywhere). His concept of America is empty of values, history, and law. In his lifetime he has committed himself to no public or private institution, no church, no party, no school; nor to any person as a friend, or to any idea as a conviction. His business ambitions preclude nothing and no one. No patch of earth is held to be sacred; geography is a figure of speech. While registering to vote in Florida, he sought to keep Washington, D.C., as his permanent address. He is incurious about what happens in his own land. Pandemic deaths in America do not interest him, much less move him. To give your life for your country is unimaginable: “What was in it for them?” he reportedly asked, among the soldiers’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery.
…
Damn. If I didn’t detest the man so much, this would make me cry. It’s incredibly sad. But, you know… fuck him.
I’m sure Charles the First felt the same way towards the end of his reign.
Not just any soldiers.
But according to sources with knowledge of this visit, Trump, while standing by Robert Kelly’s grave, turned directly to his father [General John Kelly, soon to be his chief of staff] and said, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”
Looks like some chickens are finally coming home, though … besides the sting of losing his Twitter following (you know that’s gotta hurt), Stripe is no longer processing payments to his campaign. Not being able to grift the gullible any more (at least for awhile) is surely going to cause some pain.
This made me happy.
This definitely qualifies. A self-inflicted negative consequence to something that actually matters to him, namely, his (illusory) image of himself as someone who belongs in and is respected and revered in the world of professional golf. Loving it!
And, The R&A (the UK’s counterpart to the USGA), which operates the Open Championship (a.k.a. British Open), announced today that they are removing Trump Turnberry from the courses that are in the Open’s rotation.