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And the Times added that "most of Mr. Trump's core enterprises — from his constellation of golf courses to his conservative-magnet hotel in Washington — report losing millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars year after year," while "his revenue from 'The Apprentice' and from licensing deals is drying up, and several years ago he sold nearly all the stocks that now might have helped him plug holes in his struggling properties."
Which brings me to the current fight playing out publicly between the former President and the Republican Party apparatus -- a fight centered on (you guessed it!) whether the party organization can use Trump's image and name to help it raise money.
Last Friday Trump's lawyers sent out a cease-and-desist letter to the Republican National Committee as well as the House and Senate campaign committees insisting that they stop using his "name, image, and/or likeness in all fundraising, persuasion, and/or issue speech."
The RNC pushed back on Monday, sending a letter of their own to Trump's lawyer -- insisting that the RNC "has every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected political speech, and it will continue to do so in pursuit of these common goals."
Trump, of course, responded to that response via a statement released by his "Save America" group.
"No more money for RINOS," wrote Trump, referring to a derogatory term for GOPers viewed as insufficiently loyal to core principles. "They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base -- they will never lead us to Greatness. Send your donation to Save America PAC at DonaldJTrump.com. We will bring it all back stronger than ever before!"
There's exactly one reason that Trump wants to control his likeness vis a vis political fundraising: Money.
What that means is that he needs to find new ways to make money. And with his brand badly damaged by his presidency and its violent coda on January 6, there aren't a lot of great money-making options out there for Trump.
Except, that is, figuring out ways to monetize his name -- particularly with his most ardent followers. We've already seen Trump dabble in these waters. He raised more than $30 million in the wake of the election for his "Save America" PAC through hundreds of fundraising appeals that suggested that he needed the money to fight legal battles that, if he won, would make him president again.
"Save America spent only about $343,000 of the $31.5 million it raised since it was created after the election, to pay fees to the company that processes its donations, filings show. The committee retained the rest of the donations as of Jan. 1.
"The money collected by the leadership PAC cannot be used directly for Trump's campaign purposes, but there are few other restrictions on how the money can be spent. For example, donations could be used to pay for events at Trump's properties or to finance his travel or personal expenses."
Which is why he is fighting to keep the party structure from using his name. He doesn't want anyone other than Trump making money off the name "Trump." It's how he has always done things. And he needs the money more now than he has in decades.