Trump to pay $464 million in damages by Monday March 25

The bloodbath candidate

by Vijaya Chandrasoma

I concluded my essay last week with the prediction that, if Trump does not win re-election in November, “there is little doubt that Trump will, once again, call Foul and refuse to concede defeat. The nation will be plunged into political violence, tantamount to a civil war, for which Trump and the radical red cult are already making the necessary preparations”.

It did not take two days after my essay ran for Trump to validate my prediction at a profanity-filled rant at an election rally in Ohio:

“Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it – it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole country. That’ll be the least of it”. Desperate words from a desperate lunatic.

And he is talking about a political bloodbath that will make the violent insurrection of January 6, 2021 seem like a walk in the park.

I think I am entitled to claim an “I told you so” moment, of “political violence, tantamount to a civil war” being an appropriate synonym for Trump’s “bloodbath”. Though I must admit that this prediction was hardly an original! I, and millions of people around the world have seen this coming, ever since Trump refused to concede the loss of the 2020 election, and plunged the nation into violence and insurrection on January 6, 2021, when domestic terrorists nearly destroyed the democracy in the very cradle of the world’s democracy.

The question is, why did The Donald choose this moment to bring up the threat of political violence which he had seemingly laid to rest for a few months.

There are two reasons. One, Trump is required to pay $464 million by D-Day, Monday, March 25, as damages for financial fraud of which he was found guilty by the Court of the Southern District of New York last month.

In fact, Trump’s lawyers are clutching at straws as D-Day approaches. They are looking at the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, which states. “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”, on the basis of which they have appealed for a reduction in the amount of damages imposed. As there has been no precedent for such a large case of financial fraud, the amount of the damages was calculated at the sole discretion of New York District Court Judge Engoron; jury trial had been earlier waived by the defendant. Both Judge Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James are satisfied that the judgment is fair and reasonable. Trump has also requested a “pause” for payment in view of the large amount involved. The Court may give him a little time, say, up to three months if he comes up with a realistic payment plan.

If such a compromise is not reached, then District Attorney James will start seizing his assets. Sadly for Melania, her pre-nup may soon prove to be worth zero to nothing.

The problem for Trump is that he will have to deposit with the Court the full amount of the damages pending all appeals, by Monday.

Trump, a self-confessed billionaire. has proved himself (as if proof was ever needed) that he is a self-confessed liar, when his counsel asked for time to pay, admitting that Trump does not currently have the cash to make such a large payment. 30 of New York’s most reputed financial institutions have refused to underwrite the bond for Trump as he is now recognized as the world’s most notorious bankrupt.

The impecunious billionaire is even asking his voters for help in paying off the $464 million bond. In one of his circular appeals headlined “KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF TRUMP TOWER”, Trump begs for donations from his mainly impoverished supporters to help save Trump Tower, white trash who themselves find it difficult to pay their monthly rents and trailer park fees. The irony is delicious.

Trump is hitting panic mode as it becomes almost certain that he would not be able to find the necessary funds by next Monday. The Courts will not accept real estate assets as collateral, especially as Trump’s renowned real estate empire is mortgaged to the hilt. Perhaps one of his Underworld Russian or Saudi oligarch buddies, even a home-grown billionaire like Elon Musk, will rush to his help. But there is nothing called a free lunch, especially for a candidate for the presidency of the United States. In the nightmare event that Trump is re-elected, he will enter the White House beholden to creditors who will demand favors he will not be in a position to refuse, favors which will probably be at odds with the security of the nation.

There is yet another side to this story. Will the optics of the New York Attorney General’s department seizing Trump’s properties, including his homes, validate his claim as the greatest victim in the world, and gain him public sympathy? Especially when Trump will be screaming that these properties are being sold at fire-sale prices, a fraction of the inflated prices assessed by him.

The first property identified by the NY Attorney General to be seized as part payment of the damages owed by Trump is his Seven Springs Estate, a beautiful, sprawling 212-acre property in Westchester County, New York. He valued the property at $291 million on his balance sheet presented to Deutsche Bank in 2012, to obtain a loan for his proposed purchase of the Buffalo Bills, a leading National Football League team in New York. However, in a 2018 federal ethics filing, he valued the same estate at $50 million. On the basis of these false valuations of Trump’s properties, it is likely that a part of Trump’s highly vaunted real estate empire may crumble like a deck of cards as the New York Attorney General continues to seize and sell his other properties.

Karma, like the Almighty, moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.

Two, a definite rift is beginning to show in the Republican Party, with moderate Republicans becoming increasingly critical of the revelations of Trump’s financial deceptions. The emerging facts behind his 91 felonies and the threat he presents to democracy are also becoming impossible to ignore. Conservative Republicans and Independents are beginning to wonder why Trump is going to such great lengths to ensure that none of the four indictments against him, including obstruction of justice and espionage, are brought to trial before the election. After all, wouldn’t the most innocent man Trump claims to be (“I have never done anything wrong, this is the greatest political witch hunt in history”) demand a speedy trial to prove his innocence, so that voters will be aware of the facts before they cast their votes?

So what to do, to take the public’s mind away from his financial and other woes? A desperate Trump has no alternative but to throw in the ultimate distraction. Threaten a bloodbath if he is not elected.

And the fear caused by this threat is being constantly stoked by radical Republicans, who have been inciting violence and death threats against Democrats and government officials on a daily basis ever since January 6, 2021. One of the most dangerous examples of such threats emerged last week.

Conservative activist and current Republican nominee to run the North Carolina Public School System, Michele Morrow, has a history of incendiary political comments on social media. She had expressed support in 2020 for the televised execution of former President Barack Obama and the killing of then-President-elect Joe Biden. In other comments on social media, Morrow made disturbing suggestions about executing prominent Democrats, including Minnesota Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Hillary Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer, for treason.

In a tweet from May 2020, she wrote, “I prefer a Pay Per View of him (President Obama) in front of a firing squad. I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death”.

This is the racist, lunatic counterpart of Trump. She is the current Republican nominee as Superintendent of North Carolina’s public school district, with an $11 billion budget. She would, if elected, oversee the state’s public school system and work with its Board of Education in determining the educational future of nearly 1.5 million American students in 2,475 schools in 120 school districts.

There was a program on CNN last Thursday, when there was speculation about Trump’s Vice-Presidential pick when he accepts the Party nomination in July. The most popular picks, based entirely on the degree of sycophantic loyalty to Trump, were Elise Stepanik, the chair of the House Republican Conference, African American Senator Tim Scott, Dr. Ben Carson and Senator Marco Rubio.

In my opinion, however, the dream candidate for Trump’s Vice-President – and/or Wife no. 4, would be the aforementioned Ms. Morrow. A match made in hell.

Trump’s polling rates will be so unfavorable by November that violence by his white supremacist cult will be his only chance of survival.

Unfortunately for him, the Commander-in-Chief this time around will not be on the side of domestic terrorists and insurrectionists. He will not waste a minute before summoning federal military power to quell the violence and quash Trump’s white supremacist “patriots”.