Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 07:02 pm
Donald Trump is not one to shy away from lawsuits. Any prominent figure – from politicians to comedians to journalists – who dares to tell the truth about the presumptive GOP nominee will likely be threatened by some type of frivolous legal action.
An exclusive new analysis from USA TODAY shows that Trump and his companies have been tied up in 3,500 lawsuits – a mindblowing and unprecedented number for someone hoping to be the next president.
As the report notes, “[The lawsuits] range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits to personal defamation lawsuits.”
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The analysis also found that at least 70 cases have been filed by and against Trump just since he announced his candidacy last summer. The most widely covered of the suits is the recent case surrounding the spray-tanned billionaire’s fraudulent Trump University, where the GOP candidate knowingly scammed people into handing over money without any return on their investment.
And even though Trump repeatedly claims that he never settles lawsuits, USA TODAY found at least 100 cases where the New York con man did, in fact, settle.
The news organization also reports:
The legal actions provide clues to the leadership style the billionaire businessman would bring to bear as commander in chief. He sometimes responds to even small disputes with overwhelming legal force. He doesn’t hesitate to deploy his wealth and legal firepower against adversaries with limited resources, such as homeowners. He sometimes refuses to pay real estate brokers, lawyers and other vendors.
If there is one thing this analysis confirms, it’s that Donald Trump really isn’t a great negotiator after all. He is just a man who throws money at frivolous lawsuits when he doesn’t get his way, which is apparently more often than not. As president, it’s unclear what Trump would do when he doesn’t get his way since presidents can’t simply sue their way out of trouble.
The more we learn about Trump’s past behavior, the more apparent it is that he probably shouldn’t be living in the White House.
As Hillary Clinton said today in New Jersey, “It’s important that we recognize what he has done because that’s usually a pretty good indicator of what he will do. And on issue after issue, he is someone who is unqualified and unfit to be the president of the United States.”
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
