Paying to Protect the President

Paying to Protect the President

Author: WNYC Studios February 19, 2020 Duration: 27:28
Last year, Eric Trump defended his father’s frequent visits to properties owned by the family business, saying that Trump hotels charge far less than others would. “If they were to go to a hotel across the street, they’d be charging them $500 a night, whereas, you know we charge them, like 50 bucks,” Eric Trump told Yahoo Finance. But recent reporting by The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold revealed that’s not the case: records show that the Secret Service was charged rates as high as $650 a night to stay at Trump properties — then tried to keep that information secret. “It’s not only that Trump has control over this - he’s paying money to himself - but also that we weren’t told,” Fahrenthold said. “You could make the case that if they publicly advertise this and listed these things in public spending databases and you and I knew about this from the beginning, they might be able to make the argument that like, ‘Oh well, the public knows and they're okay with it.’ But we didn't know. They didn't tell us. So there's a real moral distinction.” Related episodes:• The Government's Bar Tab at Mar-a-Lago• How a Nigerian Presidential Candidate Hired a Trump Lobbyist and Ended Up in Trump’s Lobby• Government Employees Spend Your Money at Trump Hotels Learn more about Fahrenthold and The Post's unanswered questions about government spending at Trump properties. Stay up to date with email updates about WNYC and ProPublica's investigations into the president's business practices.

The presidency of Donald Trump presented an unprecedented puzzle, one where the lines between political power and private enterprise became profoundly blurred. Trump, Inc., from WNYC Studios and ProPublica, is a forensic examination of that puzzle. This podcast moves beyond the daily headlines to investigate the enduring architecture of the Trump business empire during his time in office. Each episode is built on meticulous reporting, asking the straightforward yet complex questions that remained: where were new deals being struck, what foreign partners were involved, and was the promised separation between the Oval Office and the family company actually being maintained? The series doesn't just outline controversies; it follows the money, documents the paper trails, and interviews the people on the ground. You'll hear a detailed account of the mechanisms, the key players, and the potential conflicts of interest that defined an era where governance and brand became intertwined. It's a persistent inquiry into the nature of modern power, accountability, and the very definition of public service. By focusing on the operational realities-the leases, the loans, the licenses-this podcast provides a crucial, lasting record of how business was conducted, offering clarity long after the news cycle has moved on. Tune in for a deep, narrative-driven investigation that connects the dots across global projects and political decisions.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Trump, Inc.
Podcast Episodes
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Duration: 32:58
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Duration: 22:40
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