From the October 3 edition of CNN's CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello:
Listen To A Small Businessman Explain How He Lost $30K Because Of Trump
J. Michael Deihl: “I Think Donald Trump Runs His Business As A Dictator”
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
CAROL COSTELLO (HOST): You were asked to provide Mr. [Donald] Trump what, $100,000 worth of pianos, and you delivered, right? And tell me what happened next.
J. MICHAEL DEIHL: Well, after they were delivered I waited for 30 days, then I tried to find out when I'm going to get paid, and all I had was sort of well, soon or whenever it's going to be. And then about a month or so later, I got a letter from the Trump Organization saying they were having financial problems and I had three choices. I could either accept 70 percent on the dollar and consider the bill paid, or we could get together and everybody sue him, put him into bankruptcy, maybe get 10 cents on the dollar, or I could wait seven or eight years before the casino made enough money. So I had no other choice, really, than to accept the 70 percent on the dollar.
COSTELLO: So how did that affect your business?
DEIHL: Well, you take $30,000 out of a small business, it's a pretty big chunk, OK? When you have a small business you need working capital and that's all working capital. Besides that, I had to borrow money from my bank to pay off my company that supplied the pianos, so it cost more than --
COSTELLO: So it cost you a lot of money?
DEIHL: Right.
COSTELLO: And these pianos were for Trump's Atlantic City casinos, correct?
DEIHL: They were delivered to the casinos.
COSTELLO: So when you heard that Donald Trump claimed a $900 million loss in 1995 and it was because of these Atlantic City casinos, what went through your mind?
DEIHL: Well, what went through my mind, if you are running a casino like the Taj Mahal and you see things are going bad, you could give yourself a whole bunch of stock, OK, and say it's worth $30,000 a share. When a casino goes bad, the stock goes down to $2 a share. Well, then you can claim that as a loss. Well, it's not actually a loss because you never really used the money, but you can certainly use the loss. What I was stiffed out of $30,000, that was tough.
COSTELLO: So did Donald Trump act as any good businessman would have acted?
DEIHL: I have been in this business for 30 -- or actually 50 years. I can walk down the street and see people that I have done business with for years and I've never had anybody come up and complain, OK? I can't imagine Donald Trump getting on an airplane and some people when they find out he's there, they would want to go up and holler at him or shoot him or get aggravated with him. So you have to have your own plane at that --
COSTELLO: Not shoot him. So Donald Trump didn't pay income taxes for 18 years. That's what some analysts are saying. Because of these losses, he could kind of write them off and not pay income taxes. You lost $30,000. Did you continue to pay income taxes during that time?
DEIHL: Well, I might have saved a few dollars out of the $30,000 that I didn't make, but I still had to pay income taxes, of course.
COSTELLO: So, I guess what I'm trying to get at is Donald Trump sells himself as a great businessman who can run this country like a great business and help people like you, small businessmen. Do you think that's true?
DEIHL: I think Donald Trump runs his business as a dictator, OK? He makes all the decisions. He can't be controlled by his own people. He says what he wants to say. I can't imagine him solving the problems of this world on a third grade level. It scares me half to death.
Related:
Deihl: “I Sold Trump $100,000 Worth Of Pianos. Then He Stiffed Me.”
Previously:
Media Shouldn’t Fall For Trump’s Spin That He Can Fix Tax Laws