Speaking from the steps of Mar-a-lago on Friday evening, Trump vowed to appeal the ruling and called Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James “corrupt.”
“If I weren’t running, none of this stuff would have ever happened, none of these lawsuits would have ever happened. I would have had a nice life,” Trump said. “They’re using this as weaponization against a political opponent.”
The judge
also imposed a three year ban on Trump serving any roles in his New York-based company, and put similar two-year bans on his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., both senior executives in the Trump Organization, from running the company and fined them each $4 million.
But the harm from that verdict cannot be measured solely in dollar signs and business transactions.
For decades, Trump has cast himself as a successful businessperson, even as he sometimes struggled to keep his company afloat. From his NBC show, “The Apprentice,” to his series of books on getting rich, cutting deals and thinking “like a billionaire,” Trump marketed himself as the savviest of tycoons to the American masses.
Trump is worth billions, according to estimates from
Forbes and
Bloomberg, with much of his wealth wrapped up in his New York City real estate portfolio, hotels, golf resorts and clubs. While there’s been endless speculation about the validity of those estimates, experts still believe he will be able to afford the damages and fines, although has pledged to appeal it and is likely to delay any payment until he has exhausted all legal options.
But the verdict itself is a reputational hit, denting the perception that the Trump Organization is anything but a shining success. And it matters on a personal level to Trump, too. Not only does he see this as part of