Donald Trump pushed back against attacks on his business prowess this week, showing off examples of Trump-branded water, wine and steaks. But Trump's own ties to those products may not be as strong as he suggested.
KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
Anyone tuning into Donald Trump's post-primary press conference last night could be forgiven for thinking they'd stumbled onto the Home Shopping Network. Trump used the national TV platform to defend his business reputation. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: So there was a leading Republican presidential candidate onstage at a Trump-branded golf course promoting Trump-branded water, wine and steaks as if to reassure voters there's no problem with the size of his portfolio.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DONALD TRUMP: So you have the water. You have the steaks. You have the airline that I sold. I mean, what's wrong with selling? Every once in a while, you can sell something. You have the wines and all of that.
HORSLEY: The infomercial was a calculated rebuttal to Mitt Romney's charge last week that Trump had overstated his business prowess, a key selling point in the billionaire's presidential campaign.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MITT ROMNEY: Whatever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then there's Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks and Trump Mortgage. A business genius he is not.
HORSLEY: Whatever Trump is - a builder, dealmaker, star of his own nonstop reality show - he's also a salesman who rakes in millions of dollars by putting his name on a wide array of products, from neckties to cologne. A closer look at the Trump product showcase last night, however, suggests they may be more sizzle than steak.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: We have Trump Steaks, and by the way, you want to take one, we'll charge you about - what? - 50 bucks a steak. No, I won't.
(LAUGHTER)
HORSLEY: Where's the beef from? Those steaks bore the label of Bush Brothers Provision Company, a West Palm Beach vendor that merely supplies meat to Trump resorts. A Bush Brothers spokesman says Trump has no ownership stake in the business. OK, so what about Trump Water?
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: Well, it's a private little water company, and I supply the water for all my places. And it's good, but it's very good.
HORSLEY: Reporters who looked at that water, like Zeke Miller of Time Magazine, noticed it's bottled in Connecticut by a company called Village Springs. A spokeswoman there says the company supplies private-label water to many customers. Donald Trump has no financial stake in the operation. She referred other questions to the Trump campaign which didn't respond to a request for comment.
Donald Trump built his reputation and much of his fortune as a successful developer, but in recent years, his business has largely morphed into licensing the Trump brand to others. According to Yahoo News, for example, Trump actually owns less than a third of the Manhattan buildings that bear his name. That's allowed Trump to profit from his growing celebrity without having to risk much of his own capital.
For many people, the Trump name implies quality and luxury, but they can end up disappointed when they learn the limits of Donald Trump's involvement. Trump's facing several lawsuits, for example, over the now-shuttered Trump University which promoted itself as teaching the billionaire's moneymaking secrets. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, argued in a CNN interview that the so-called university did not offer instructors hand-picked by Trump as advertised. Instead, the teachers came from retail and fast food.
ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN: If you tell people, we're going to teach you Donald Trump's secrets and he's never had any part of writing the curriculum, that's fraud.
HORSLEY: Schneiderman is seeking tens of millions of dollars in restitution. Last week, a New York appeals court ruled the case can go forward. Trump insists many students offered glowing reviews of the university and says he's eager to re-launch it once the lawsuits are resolved.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: I don't settle lawsuits - very rare - because once you settle lawsuits, everybody sues you - very simple.
HORSLEY: Trump did settle a lawsuit, though, over a failed condominium project in Baja, Calif. It was called Trump Ocean Resort, though Trump himself played almost no role in the development which was never completed and cost investors more than $30 million. One unhappy investor told NPR he never would've bought into the property had he suspected Donald Trump was little more than a marketing gimmick. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
http://www.npr.org/2016/03/09/469836959/trump-steaks-wine-water-why-donald-doesnt-own-most-of-those-products
Home
» Parliamentary Finance Committee discusses amending the three-year budget
» utube 11/26/24 MM&C MM&C Iraq News-Central Bank Iraq-Monetary Stability Excellent-Budget Law 2023,
» "Rich Iraq" seeks "money" to combat methane emissions: internal and external obstacles
» Increase in foreign remittance sales at the Central Bank of Iraq auction
» Its area is 2.5 million acres, and these are its details.. Work begins on a "large" residential city
» Kurdistan Finance delivers employees' salary schedule to the federal government
» Beggars are sweeping the streets of Iraq.. Their numbers are "large" and 90% of them receive welfare
» Settling tax trust claims
» Launching the National School Health Strategy
» Approval to implement service projects in Babylon
» New container handling berths at ports
» Work: Demand for registration in social security
» Reconstruction: Land Bank to be completed next year
» Aiming to enhance services in schools and prevent diseases, the National School Health Strategy for
» Karmian Festival witnesses the conclusion of commercial and industrial contracts
» Focus on the banking sector
» Minister of Trade: Studies Center is a turning point that serves the Iraqi economy
» Economists: Census is a roadmap for development
» Today's newspapers are interested in Al-Sudani's announcement that the population of Iraq exceeds 45
» International Development Bank: Today's incident was an extortion attempt that did not affect our wo
» thirty-sixth session, chaired by the Minister of Planning
» Closed meeting of the Parliamentary Finance Committee to discuss seven files
» The demographic boom in Iraq: an economic opportunity or a social burden?
» Al-Sudani confirms to Russian delegation Iraq's desire to establish a mechanism that brings mutual b
» Parliament holds its session headed by Al-Mashhadani and attended by 168 MPs
» The Iraqi government deducts 1% of the salaries of employees and retirees to donate to Gaza and Leba
» Iran announces its commitment to continuing gas exports to Iraq
» Iraq, Russia discuss energy cooperation
» British Home Secretary to visit Iraq tomorrow
» The next parliament will have 450 members.. Officially, Al-Sudani announces that the population of I
» US Ambassador Warns of 'Frightening Actions': Iraq Does Not Want to Be Drawn into Regional Conflict
» Planning: The announced census results are not preliminary and the number will increase
» Election “hype” begins early.. Al-Maliki insists on holding it and Al-Sudani prepares
» “No more delays”.. Parliament changes the mechanism of holding sessions: “Controversial” laws are re
» Al-Mashhadani to the heads of the blocs: I prefer to vote on the general amnesty law before anything
» Iraq ranks 8th in the Arab world in achieving work-life balance in 2025
» Labor announces issuance of more than a quarter of a million national cards for social protection be
» Iraqi-Chinese research on accelerating combined cycle power projects
» Al-Maliki praises the decision of the International Criminal Court and demands the resolution of the
» Al-Mashhadani calls for voting on the general amnesty law for the “oppressed” before other laws
» Yazan Mishaan Al-Habouri revolts against his "leak": There are those who obstruct the government's e
» US Ambassador: Ending the presence of the international coalition in Iraq is being implemented and w
» Al-Mashhadani directs to raise the suspended laws to the Presidency of the House of Representatives
» "His general situation is unbearable" .. Parliamentarian: Political consensus to keep Iraq away from
» Al-Sudani agrees to launch the “For Her” initiative to support Iraqi women
» Development Bank condemns extortion attempts: It will not affect our workflow
» Iraq-China oil-for-reconstruction deal faltering: A geopolitical shift in the Middle East
» Planning reveals the next step of the census: We will visit these families
» Parliamentary Finance Committee calls on the government to expedite sending the budget tables
» OPEC+ may extend oil cuts at its meeting next Sunday
» Parliamentary Integrity Committee discusses with the Director of Central Oil the file of contracts a
» Government notice regarding the legal status of foreign workers
» House of Representatives holds "important" session today.. Expectations of extending the legislative
» Slight rise in dollar prices against the dinar in Iraqi stock exchanges
» Baghdad "softens" and Kurdistan oil prepares to continue its global journey
» "For 5 million dinars or in installments" .. Iraqi electric cars soon on the streets
» Where did the Intelligence Bill get to in the House of Representatives?
» "Contract Suspicions Series"... What are the loopholes in the Korean air defense system contract in
» MP reveals latest developments in the formation of the new Kurdistan government
» Personal status: imposing a vision or turning Iraq into a copy similar to the Iranian religious regi
» Oral question to the governor.. Parliamentary movement regarding the “Basra, the Economic Capital of
» MM&C 11/25/24 Parliamentarian: We need to extend the legislative chapter to 8 sessions and the bud
» Al-Alaq: The monetary situation in Iraq is excellent and our reserves support the stability of the e
» utube 11/25/24 MM&C MM&C Iraq News-CBI Building Final Touches-Oil Exports-Development Road-Turkey-B
» Parliamentary movement to include the salary scale in the next session
» Parliamentary Finance Committee reveals the budget paragraphs included in the amendment
» Al-Maliki calls on the Bar Association to hold accountable members who violate professional conduct
» Politician: The security agreement with America has many aspects
» Kurdistan Planning: More than 6 million people live in the region, the oldest of them is 126 years o
» Al-Alaq: Arab consensus on the role of central bank programs in addressing challenges
» Economics saves from political drowning
» Agriculture calls for strict ban on import of "industrial fats" and warns of health risks
» Iraq is the fourth largest oil exporter to China
» Railways continue to maintain a number of its lines to ensure the smooth running of trains
» Parliament resumes its sessions tomorrow.. and these are the most important amendments in the budget
» Bitcoin Fails to Continue Rising as It Approaches $100,000
» Minister of Planning: There will be accurate figures for the population of each governorate
» Popular Mobilization Law is ready for voting
» Mechanisms for accepting people with disabilities into postgraduate studies
» Government coordination to create five thousand jobs
» Transport: Next month, a meeting with the international organization to resolve the European ban
» Census is a path to digital government
» Calls to facilitate loans and reduce interest rates for the private sector
» The launch of the third and final phase of the "population census"
» Al-Sudani: We have accomplished a step that is the most prominent in the framework of planning, deve
» Justice discusses modern mechanisms to develop investment in real estate and minors’ money
» Dubai to host Arabplast exhibition next month
» Al-Tamimi: Integrity plays a major role in establishing the foundations of laws that will uphold jus
» Reaching the most important people involved in the "theft of the century" in Diyala
» Transportation: Completion of excavation works and connection of the immersed tunnel manufacturing b
» Between internal and regional challenges... Formation of the Kurdistan government on a "slow fire" a
» Kurdistan Region Presidency: We will issue a regional order to determine the first session of parlia
» The Minister of Foreign Affairs announces the convening of the Ambassadors Conference tomorrow, Mond
» Al-Sudani: Iraq must always be at the forefront
» Al-Mashhadani: We support the Foreign Ministry in confronting any external interference that affects
» Al-Sudani chairs meeting with Oliver Wyman delegation
» Half a million beggars in Iraq.. 90% of them receive welfare salaries
» Sudanese announces preliminary results of the general population and housing census in detail