'Narcissistic octogenarian' Trump’s financial woes are a chance for America’s 'renewal': comedian

20 March 2024

The amount of Donald Trump's exact net worth has been debated by journalists. Forbes has estimated it to be around $2.6 billion, but as wealthy as Trump is, his legal problems are taking their toll on him financially.

Trump's legal bills are astronomical, and the amount juries have ordered him to pay in various civil lawsuits — including writer E. Jean Carroll's two defamation cases and New York State Attorney General Letitia James' fraud case — total well over $525 million when interest is factored in.

Actor/comedian Michael Ian Black has some laughs at Trump's expense in a humorous op-ed published by the Daily Beast on March 20. But Black makes some serious points as well, arguing that "renewal and regrowth" are possible for the United States if it overcomes Trump's extremes.

"Ordinarily, when you've got somebody with the resume of Trump — bankrupt six times over, accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault a couple dozen times, barred from running a charity due to fraud, you'd think to yourself: 'That's a guy I want running my country,'" Black sarcastically writes. "But when we pile on a half-billion-dollar judgment for which he cannot secure a bond, all of the sudden, the proposition of a narcissistic octogenarian with loosey-goosey lips — often tempted to feed sensitive info to generous sponsors of the governmental and non-governmental variety — starts to sound, shall we say, a bit dodgy."

The actor/comedian adds, "The obvious solution for a fellow accustomed to taking advantage of/manipulating/abusing the nation's tax laws is to declare bankruptcy for a seventh time. The problem with that solution, of course, is one of optics. How does one sell the narrative that he alone can save the nation from ruin — and keep himself out of prison — when he can't even save himself?"

Black's op-ed, however, takes a more serious and patriotic tone when he argues that the United States' democratic republic is much bigger than Trump's dysfunction.

"In the end," Black writes, "the personal travails of the world's worst casino owner don't worry me much, except as it affects his job performance as commander-in-chief. He'll either settle his debts, or die, or go to jail — and there's not much I can do to effectuate any of those outcomes."

Black continues, "What I can do, however, is advocate for my home. Because unlike Trump, America has endless resources for renewal and regrowth. Unlike Trump, our nation is creative, talented, and dynamic. Our problems are the problems of great nations. How we handle them determines how we proceed, or if we proceed."

Michael Ian Black's full Daily Beast op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).

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