5/17/2019

TRUMP BUSINESS/TRUMP FAMILY: “When Donald J. Trump became president, he left his eldest sons in charge of his company, with a mandate to continue expanding the family’s business and brand — which they said at the time was ‘the hottest it has ever been.’ Now, more than two years into his presidency, there is growing evidence that the Trump brand is cooling off. The latest indication was in Mr. Trump’s financial disclosure report, made public on Thursday [5-16-19], which showed that revenues across the president’s businesses in 2018 were down about 4 percent from the previous year. Many of his biggest revenue generators, like his Doral resort and Washington hotel, had only tiny increases, while revenues from his famed club, Mar-a-Lago, dropped nearly 10 percent. The New York Times dug through the numbers for clues about how Mr. Trump’s businesses are faring just past the midway point of his term in office. Here are five takeaway…”

Eric Lipton and Steve Eder, “Trump’s Financial Disclosure Form: Five Takeaways,” The New York Times online, May 17, 2019