Lawsuits Mean Trump Slump, Not Headed To Stump?

The Donald has had a slump in the polls to a mere 8% following the success of the Bin Laden mission. A majority of Republicans polled have an unfavourable opinion of him. Admittedly, Obama's chances of a Republican candidate that is as easy to beat as Trump were never that strong, but one can live in hope - hope that now seems to be receding.

With hindsight, it seems that raising the birther issue has on balance damaged Trump even among those Americans who are drawn to the idea of a maverick businessman who can save the country (as they see it). Obama' release of the long-form birth certificate deflated the Trump campaign a little too efficiently. Barry may have to run against the Rombot, which would make for a boring campaign, except for the healthcare debate.

Now the knives are out for The Donald, whose brand may never recover from the press revelations. Yesterday, the New York Times ran a lengthy piece on The Donald having licensed his name to real estate developments in which he did not invest or have any management role at all. Many buyers bought on the strength of the Trump name and subsequently lost their deposits when these developments were never completed. Some 300 such buyers are currently suing Trump. The licensing arrangement between the real estate developers and Trump stipulated that the existence of the license agreement itself was not to be disclosed.

The article also refers to Trump University launched by Trump in 2005 to train students in real estate and general business, charging as much as $35,000 for a program. State regulators forced him to change the misleading name to Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, which is being sued by former students, who cite misleading marketing materials. One student described the tuition as  “almost completely worthless.” Trump also licensed his name to something similar called the Trump Institute, which was closed down in 2009. After the Texas attorney general began investigating Trump University, the company closed down in Texas.

Well, The Donald can console himself that he has the "number-one selling tie in the country" or at least that's what he told Rolling Stone in an interview published today.

Would you believe that The Donald has been imortalized in poetry? Me neither, but Timothy Hutchens at http://onthenewsstanza.blogspot.com/2011/04/some-card-that-trump.html has verse for your attention.