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Msg ID: 2691147 Donnie's "Desk Blog" Shut Down Because Nobody Cared... +3/-0     
Author:Jett
6/3/2021 12:30:04 PM

Trump ends blog after 29 days, infuriated by measly readership

Upset that it was being mocked for low traffic, Trump ordered his team Tuesday to put the blog out of its misery

By 

Former president Donald Trump’s blog, celebrated by advisers as a “beacon of freedom” that would keep him relevant in an online world he once dominated, is dead. It was 29 days old.

Upset by reports from The Washington Post and other outlets highlighting its measly readership and concerns that it could detract from a social media platform he wants to launch later this year, Trump ordered his team Tuesday to put the blog out of its misery, advisers said.

 On its last day, the site received just 1,500 shares or comments on Facebook and Twitter — a staggering drop for someone whose every tweet once garnered hundreds of thousands of reactions.

Trump still wants to launch some other platform — timing not yet determined — and didn’t like that this first attempt was being mocked as a loser, according to a Trump adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the former president’s plans.

Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” blog “was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on.” CNBC first reported the blog’s demise.
Former president Donald Trump on May 4 launched a space on his website where he can post messages that can be shared by others to Twitter and Facebook. (Reuters)
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Launched last month with a grand unveiling replete with an action-movie-style trailer that proclaimed, “In a time of silence and lies, a beacon of freedom arises,” the blog never secured more than a sliver of the spotlight Trump held before he was banned from every major social media site in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

A Post analysis of online data late last month found that the site was attracting fewer visitors than the pet-adoption service Petfinder and the recipe site Delish. The blog’s prospects hadn’t improved since, even though Trump had taken to writing on it more, a new analysis of online data shows.

Trump is sliding toward online irrelevance. His new blog isn’t helping.

Three days after the Post report, Trump released a statement saying his “very basic site” was doing amazingly well, attracting greater attention than during the 2020 election campaign and that it would be doing even better had he not been banned by Facebook and Twitter, actions that denied him direct access to more than 88 million Twitter followers and 35 million Facebook followers.

 In his statement, Trump, without citing a source, said tens of millions of his supporters had stopped using Facebook and Twitter “because they’ve becoming ‘boring’ and nasty” — a claim not backed up by the companies’ own data, which shows U.S. usage has stayed steady or increased since Trump left office.

Trump had said that the site allowed everyone to “see my statements, issued in real time, and engage with the MAGA Movement” and that it would allow him to communicate “until I decide on what the future will be for the choice or establishment of a platform. It will happen soon. Stay tuned!” No other Trump platform has been announced.

Many in the former president’s orbit were annoyed with former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale for promoting the blog. But Parscale had defended the website less than two weeks ago, telling The Post it was “built exactly as we pitched it.” “My company spent the last six years building products that helped the president spread his message around the world. And we happily continue to do so,” he said then.

 In March, Miller said the new Trump social media platform would be revealed within three months and draw “tens of millions of people” to become “the hottest ticket” in social media. “It’s going to completely redefine the game,” he told Fox News.

But no details have been shared about the new Trump platform. Social media sites are endlessly more expensive and complicated than a simple blog, requiring a vast infrastructure allowing for user accounts, comments and other modern Web features that were never present on Trump’s site. Trump dictated his messages to his aides, who would print them out so he could revise them with a Sharpie before manually posting them to the blog.

But the site rarely gained much viewership: Trump’s entire website, including his blog, merchandise store and donation page, saw roughly 4 million visits in the week ending May 18 from desktop and mobile devices in the United States — roughly half of the week’s traffic for the right-wing websites Newsmax and the Gateway Pundit, according to an analysis by the online-analytics firm Similarweb, which tracks and estimates traffic and referrals for millions of websites.

 Trump’s supporters also were not racing to share the site on social media. Social engagement across the Web with Trump’s blog — a measure of the likes, reactions, comments and shares on some of the biggest social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Pinterest — peaked at 159,000 interactions on its first day, according to data from the social media analytics firm BuzzSumo.

That response rate was pitifully low by Trump standards. But even though Trump’s blogging rate actually increased in recent days, including 10 new posts last Tuesday, his blog never got anywhere near his first day’s interest level, averaging about 4,000 interactions a day, BuzzSumo data show.

Every blog post has been scrubbed from the Internet. The old link now redirects to a webpage urging people to give their contact information to a Trump campaign mailing list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Msg ID: 2691157 Donald J. Trump (the "J" stands for 'jenius') is fading into well deserved  +2/-1     
Author:TheCrow
6/3/2021 1:33:01 PM

Reply to: 2691147

Donald J. Trump (the "J" stands for 'jenius') is fading into well deserved obscurity.

The only thing he ever successfully sold was the Trump name. It had it's day, along with hula hoops and pet rocks.

He came to office as a disruptor and he did exactly that- broke things and left America worse off than ever before.

His antagonistic attitude and loud mouth brought his criminality into public view. Now, no prosecutor can afford to ignore Trump's and the Trump Organizations' actions. 

Add to that that he's over-leveraged in all his properties and one can see the end coming. 



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Msg ID: 2691200 We Get It. You Guys Hate Trump Because... +0/-3     
Author:obumazombie
6/3/2021 5:33:33 PM

Reply to: 2691157

Among other reasons, you think he didn't have the proper decorum. 
That's shooting the messenger for the message.

You guys just can't let it go that he smashed your lib faces into the destruction of your lib shibboleths like open borders.

Now your guy is shoving illegal aliens into cages and containers, like owebuma did, but on steroids.

Now your guy is leaving 5 year olds on the border who have been abandoned, crying for their family to please not leave them alone.

Now your guy, through his policies, is drowning illegal aliens in the Rio Grand.

And guess what, he doesn't have the decorum you libz said Trump had to have.

He is saying, among other racist and lying comments, that blacks can't get lawyers or accountants...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ5yCGbuf-w

 

Good job Goodlibs!



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Msg ID: 2691218 We Get It. You Guys Hate Trump Because... +3/-0     
Author:Jett
6/3/2021 6:55:30 PM

Reply to: 2691200

In addition to teaching our children the truth about American history including Racism in the past and today, we should also be teaching our children that people on the Extreme Right are mentally ill and to avoid them. We can use the example of QAnon to demonstrate that there is something seriously wrong with these people.  

That, would truly be a Great Job!



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Msg ID: 2691220 We Get It. You Guys Hate Trump Because... +0/-3     
Author:obumazombie
6/3/2021 6:58:22 PM

Reply to: 2691218

If you are teaching someone about a farcical group, you aren't doing anyone a favor.

What you should be teaching people about is incompetent, entitled political leaders who do nothing more than abuse their power, to gain more power, and to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayer...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96iQRq9w8jc

 

Good job Goodlibs !



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Msg ID: 2691245 We Get It. You Guys Hate Trump Because... +0/-3     
Author:obumazombie
6/3/2021 9:02:25 PM

Reply to: 2691220

Another entitled lib/dem swamp congresscritter...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEu35w2mkzY

 

Good job Goodlibs!



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Msg ID: 2691246 We Get It. You Guys Hate Trump Because... +0/-3     
Author:obumazombie
6/3/2021 9:03:57 PM

Reply to: 2691245

One of the worst ever...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0rpIqU7Dgc

 

Good job Goodlibs!



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Msg ID: 2691338 "You Guys Hate Trump Because" Agreed, he is one of the worst POTUS ever. (NT) +2/-0     
Author:TheCrow
6/4/2021 1:16:11 PM

Reply to: 2691246


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Msg ID: 2691339 P.S. I didn't click the link. I get all the stupid I can stand on the forum (NT) +2/-0     
Author:TheCrow
6/4/2021 1:17:12 PM

Reply to: 2691338


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Msg ID: 2691389 Thank You For Giving Us All Permission To... +1/-2     
Author:obumazombie
6/4/2021 5:59:41 PM

Reply to: 2691339

Ignore anything you post as a reference.

We can then rest assured that what you are offering is nothing less than your lib opinion, in addition to a...

 

Good job Goodlibs!



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Msg ID: 2691345 you should be teaching people about is incompetent, entitled political lea +2/-0     
Author:TheCrow
6/4/2021 1:26:32 PM

Reply to: 2691245

"... you should be teaching people about is incompetent, entitled political leaders who do nothing more than abuse their power, to gain more power, and to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayer..."

 
Donald Trump

JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES

An adaptation from White House, Inc: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business by Dan Alexander.


 

Donald Trump never really got out of business. Sure, he handed day-to-day management of his companies to his children, like a lot of tycoons who get preoccupied with other interests late in life. But the president held onto ownership of his assets after taking office, ensuring that he would continue to generate money while serving in the White House. From 2017 to 2019, the president’s businesses raked in an estimated $1.9 billion of revenue.

uncaptioned

 

It’s a significant sum, no matter how you look at it. Documents from various sources—including private lenders, local governments, federal officials and overseas regulators—help show where the money comes from and roughly how much of it turns into profit. An analysis that relies on those documents and conversations with industry experts, broken down for the first time in the forthcoming book White House, Inc., provides an unprecedented look at the president’s finances, which he has worked so hard to shield from public scrutiny.

 

Presidential Profits


 

Trump’s licensing, management and hotel empire has been fading, but his golf and club business has picked up the slack. The president’s commercial buildings remain his cash cows.

Trump’s golf course and club portfolio produced the biggest chunk of revenue, some $753 million in three years. The Trump National Doral golf resort in Miami, Florida led the way, bringing in $228 million of revenue from 2017 to 2019, about three-quarters of the total from the 10 other golf courses Trump owns in the United States. In Europe, another golf resort named Trump Turnberry generated $70 million. Holdings in Doonbeg, Ireland and Aberdeenshire, Scotland added $53 million, while Mar-a-Lago took in $69 million.

 

Golf Course and Club Revenues (2017-19)


Despite all the revenue it generates, the president’s golf and club business is not where he earns the biggest profits. Financial statements from the Trump Organization and conversations with golf industry insiders suggest that the president’s traditional golf clubs have operating margins of roughly 20%. His golf resorts produce even slimmer profits. In 2017, Trump National Doral earned just $4.3 million on $75.4 million in revenue. None of his three European properties have ever recorded an annual profit, according to the most recent financial data available.

 

Stuck In The Rough


Only one of Trump’s four golf resorts turned a profit in 2017 and 2018, according to a set of documents that is not yet available for 2019.

The second-biggest revenue generator is Trump’s collection of commercial real estate assets. New York City remains the hub. The president continues to own the commercial space inside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, a lease to 40 Wall Street in the financial district, and a 30% stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, one of the broad-shouldered office buildings that defines midtown Manhattan. The New York City holdings generated an estimated $461 million in revenue from 2017 to 2019. Another $114 million or so came from Trump’s 30% interest in 555 California Street, a skyscraper in the heart of San Francisco.

 

The President’s Rent


Trump’s commercial real estate portfolio has drawn in hundreds of millions in revenue while he’s served in office, as these estimates show.

In contrast to the modest-margin golf properties, Trump’s commercial real estate assets convert more like 50% of their revenue into profit. That means that they have been far more lucrative than the golf courses and clubs, throwing off an estimated $313 million of income from operations in the first three years Trump sat in the White House. The commercial properties also come with greater conflicts. Golf assets generate smaller amounts of money from lots of people, whereas commercial real estate holdings tend to collect bigger sums from fewer customers. So although there’s a lot of talk about potential influence from Trump’s club members, the customers who can really impact his bottom line are those renting space in his buildings.

 

Skyscrapers Of Gold


Trump’s commercial real estate portfolio threw off more than $100 million in estimated profits from operations every year from 2017 to 2019.

Trump’s hotels also tend to get a lot of attention, particularly his Washington, D.C. palace down the street from the White House. Trump’s revenues at the place totaled $122 million from 2017 to 2019. The real estate titan has sold off a chunk of hotel rooms in Chicago and Las Vegas, allowing outside investors to buy into those buildings. The Chicago hotel, where Trump still holds 175 of the 339 units, generated $102 million of revenue from the start of 2017 to the end of 2018, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. In Las Vegas, the president disclosed about $69 million of hotel revenue from 2017 to 2019. At a handful of other properties—in Canada, Uruguay, Panama, Turkey and elsewhere—Trump either licensed his name or managed buildings on behalf of other owners. Altogether, Trump’s licensing, management and hotel businesses reaped an estimated $410 million in revenue during the first three years their owner served as president.

 

Capital Appreciation


The president has disclosed remarkably consistent revenues at his D.C. hotel every year since taking office.

Running a hotel, like operating a golf course, is a hands-on, high-cost business, cutting into potential earnings. Trump’s property in Washington generated profit margins (calculated using earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of just 11% in the first four months of 2017. The president’s Chicago hotel fared even worse, producing margins of 9% in 2017 and 4% in 2018.

 

Falling Fortunes


Estimated profits inside Trump’s licensing, management and hotel empire have slipped each year.

Trump gets additional revenue from a variety of sources, including some that other real estate barons would never consider. In New York City’s Central Park, his business operates a skating rink and a carousel that generated $29 million during the first three years he served as president. There are also restaurants, like the Trump Grill inside Trump Tower, home to the famous taco bowl, which then-candidate Trump touted on Cinco de Mayo, 2016. He has gotten money from selling books, renting mansions, leasing aircraft, and so on. All the miscellaneous revenue added up to an estimated $90 million from 2017 to 2019.

 

Random Revenue


Donald Trump isn’t just a real estate operator. His businesses brought in an estimated $90 million in miscellaneous revenue from 2017 to 2019, including some from a restaurant portfolio, skating rink and even a carousel.

Trump receives more money from properties he sells. The president ditched his 4% stake in a Brooklyn housing project for an estimated $33 million in 2018. He sold 11 oceanside lots outside of Los Angeles for another $23 million. He offloaded about 100 units inside the Las Vegas tower, generating $17 million. A single condo on Park Avenue in Manhattan, dealt to a woman who publicly boasts about her connections to government officials, brought in $15.9 million. A mansion in Beverly Hills, sold to a company connected to an Indonesian tycoon, produced another $13.5 million. Trump’s team promised he would do no new foreign deals while in office, but then he sold $3.2 million worth of land in the Dominican Republic. And on and on. Added up, all those transactions produced an estimated $118 million over three years.

 

The Donald’s Deals


The president sold an estimated $118 million of property from 2017 to 2019, through more than 100 under-the-radar transactions.

The flow of money has likely slowed down in 2020, thanks to the coronavirus. But the spigot hasn’t shut off completely. Day after day, new visitors arrive at Trump’s hotels, dine at his restaurants, golf on his courses, and rent his buildings. It’s difficult to put precise figures on all of that without seeing more documentation (which won’t be available until next year). But it seems certain that Trump’s businesses will accept more than $100 million in 2020. And that means that, even if his tenure ends in January 2021, Trump should still be the first president to literally rake in billions of dollars while serving in office.

 


Adapted from White House, Inc: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business by Dan Alexander, published by Penguin Random House. © 2020 by the author.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out some of my other work hereSend me a secure tip

 

I am a senior editor at Forbes, as well as the author of White House, Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business, released Sept. 22, 2020. I write about money in politics, with an emphasis on the businesses of Donald Trump and the people around him.



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Msg ID: 2691391 So What? He Had Those Businesses Up And... +1/-2     
Author:obumazombie
6/4/2021 6:03:14 PM

Reply to: 2691345

Running long before he was sworn in.

Not Biden though.

He skipped out on paying 13 million in taxes by sheltering income.

Proving yet again, libz love taxes, as long as they don't pay them.

Also proving the tax shelter dodge as a...

 

Good job Goodlibs!



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