Donald Trump Questioned on His Bankruptcies

Unofficial 2012 presidential hopefully Donald Trump just encountered his first personal challenge: questions regarding his string of corporate bankruptcies.

So far, Trump has been on the offensive, ferociously attacking President Barack Obama on a wide range of issues.

Now, Trump is met with a personal challenge of his own.

In an interview with Kelly Evans of the Wall Street Journal, Trump was asked if someone (like him) who has filed multiple corporate bankruptcies should be running the finances of the US, especially at a time when the national debt is so high.

Trump responded that he simply used the law of the country – namely Chapter 11 – to negotiate corporate debt deals. He also said great businessmen like Carl Icahn and Henry Kravis both have filed for corporate bankruptcies.

Evans responded that Icahn and Kravis aren’t running for the Oval Office.

Evans and Trump then exchanged heated words, with Trump saying that Evans asked “sneaky” questions.

Trump currently claims his company has great financials and little leverage and uses its alleged success as a selling point for his presidential competency. He said if he were to run for president, he would be “proud” to disclose the successful financials of his company.

Previously, Trump filed for corporate bankruptcy in 1991, 1992, 2004, and 2009.

As Trump stated in the interview, these Chapter 11 corporate bankruptcies were used to negotiate debt deals. After the deals were done, all of his companies went on to survive (and in some cases thrive).