Donald Trump finds himself increasingly strapped for cash following two devastating court losses.
In a New York financial case against his company, the Trump Organization, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him to repay illegal profits totaling $355 million. Additionally, interest amounts to a total of $98.6 million, bringing his total debt to the court to $453.6 million. Every day, an additional $87,000 in interest accrues, further exacerbating his financial situation.
Trump now has about four weeks to appeal the verdict and prove to the court that he has the means to pay the penalty. His attorney, Alina Habba, expressed confidence in making necessary preparations to meet these obligations.
Although “Forbes” still estimates Trump’s net worth at $2.6 billion, it remains unclear how much of that is in liquid assets. Prior to these financial setbacks, Trump had already been fined $83 million in another case, where a court found him guilty of sexually assaulting and defaming columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Neither the Republican Party nor Trump’s supporters can effectively bail him out of his financial woes. The Republican National Committee cannot simply cover his legal expenses, and a GoFundMe campaign by his supporters has raised only limited funds. Trump supporters who started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign have so far raised around $900,000 since the weekend – at least this could at least cover the daily interest.
Trump’s legal troubles also have implications for his political future, especially regarding potential election campaigns. President Biden has significantly more funds in his campaign coffers than Trump, in part due to the high legal costs Trump is facing. The Democrat had 56 million dollars in his campaign coffers at the end of January, whereas Trump only had 33 million – mainly due to his exorbitant legal costs.
In addition to civil lawsuits, Trump faces four criminal trials, including one scheduled to begin on March 25 in Manhattan, focusing on hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. The start dates for other trials, including those related to events on January 6 and alleged election manipulation in Georgia, remain uncertain.
