5 Disgraced New York Icons and How They Recovered (Or Not)
- David Becker c/o Getty Images
- Pucker up. Eewwww.
Donald Trump; Bankruptcy
Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is an iconic New York CIty figure. And, probably, you hate him, because probably you’re not his kid. They seem to really love him, while the rest of us merely tolerate his existence because we have no choice in the matter. Anyway, Trump is no stranger to scandal, having gone through an incredibly messy divorce—not once, but twice—which landed him and his soon-to-be-ex-wives on the covers of New York’s tabloids on an almost daily basis. But perhaps his biggest scandal is the fact that he has declared bankruptcy four times, while still maintaining that he is one of America’s greatest businessmen. First in 1991, then in 1992, 2004, and 2008, Trump companies (including the Trump Taj Mahal and other Trump entertainment resort holdings) filed for bankruptcy. Which, for a guy whose whole identity is wrapped up in how many things he can cover in gold, seems like it would be a pretty unrecoverable scandal, right? Right???
But Was There a Second Act?
Ugh. Yes. God. What is wrong with our society that Donald Trump—after demonstrating how poorly he did one of the things that he claims to do well—is still allowed to play a huge role on the public stage? A lot. A lot is wrong with our society. Trump’s image was rehabilitated in many ways, not the least of which was creating and starring in a reality TV show of all things, which I guess is maybe technically still on the air? So, lucky us. Trump gets to continue being a public figure, running for president, demanding the President’s birth certificate thereby demonstrating the particularly virulent strain of racism that he possesses, and being a total buffoon on twitter. So, yeah, I guess Trump wins, if by winning you mean being allowed to make an idiot of yourself in public. Which, that’s Anthony Weiner’s definition, right? I think it must be.