Thread by @Fahrenthold

MY TOP ELEVEN: We've been writing about @realdonaldtrump's business since early 2017 -- learned some lessons about him along the way.

Here are the 11 stories that I remember the most:

11.) At many of his clubs, @realdonaldtrump's staff hung up a Time Magazine cover w/his face on it.

It was fake.

An early look at the fakery that surrounds Trump -- sometimes intended to fool others, sometimes intended to fool *him.*

washingtonpost.com/politics/a-tim…

10.) @realdonaldtrump's name stripped from his hotel in Panama.

As Trump's politics weighed on his brand, his name was removed from 3 hotels & multiple residential bldgs.

This was the only instance w/ a shoving match, a police visit & a piano concert.

washingtonpost.com/world/the_amer…

9.) @realdonaldtrump sent documents w/ inflated numbers and hidden debts to make himself seem like a better business partner.

These docs are now at the center of a @NewYorkStateAG investigation -- a key part of Trump's legal headaches post-election.
washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/…

8.) @realdonaldtrump defied real-estate industry wisdom by sinking $400M+ of his own cash into big real-estate projects.

Many of these look like bad bets, on properties that consistently lose $. (as @nytimes confirmed in its great Trump-taxes stories).

washingtonpost.com/politics/as-th…

7.) NY Judge orders @realdonaldtrump to pay $2 million for using a charity's money to pay legal settlements and buy portraits of himself.

A sign that Trump doesn't have some forcefield to avoid accountability.

It just takes, er, about 3.5 years.
washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

6.) Big-spending charity customers desert Mar-a-Lago after @realdonaldtrump's remarks about Charlottesville.

An early signal that Trump's politics would be a weight on Trump's business -- even in the sealed bubble of Palm Beach society.

washingtonpost.com/news/post-poli…

5.) @realdonaldtrump awards the enormous Group of Seven Summit contract to...himself.

Trump later backed down. But the fact that he tried showed how far he was willing to go to funnel taxpayer $ into his own business (the struggling Doral resort).

washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

4.) @tmobile executives needed Trump administration approval for a merger. The next day, 9 of them checked into a @realdonaldtrump hotel.

Don't think we've seen a more direct example of this in all 4 years.

washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

3.) How two undocumented housekeepers took on a president.

Two brave women stepped out of the shadows, and revealed @realdonaldtrump's reliance on undocumented workers -- even as he bashed undocumented workers for political gain.

washingtonpost.com/politics/how-t…

2.) How @realdonaldtrump's mishandling of the covid crisis has hammered his own businesses, leaving him with struggling hotels and looming loan bills.

Trump faces a mess in 2021. He will have a lot more leverage to escape it if he's still president.

washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

1.) How @realdonaldtrump's company billed taxpayers for $2.5 million, without telling them.

The bills included $650 for hotel rooms, $7,000 for a single dinner & $3 for Trump's own water. The records were hidden 'til nonprofits & reporters dug them out.

washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

My two-part takeaway: @realdonaldtrump exploits honor systems, where ppl follow rules because of convention/shame and not b/c of law.

He violates the honor system, and wins the element of surprise. He finds what's "unthinkable" and does it.

But...

washingtonpost.com/politics/spin-…

...BUT that strategy falters when the violation is no longer a surprise. Would you be a repeat customer at Trump University?

So @realdonaldtrump has repeatedly shifted to new fields, to find people who haven't seen the surprise yet. Casinos, TV, universities, politics....

I don't know how the election will go this week. But I'll be interested to see if this pattern repeats.

(In the meantime, we're carrying on as usual. Just filed a FOIA on Trump's golf course in L.A.)