[ad_1]
Deutsche Bank became the latest major company to cut ties with Donald Trump, and the company that has supported the Trump Organization for two decades announced that it would no longer do business with the disgraced president.
The German bank’s move, reported by the New York Times, follows Wednesday’s deadly attack on the United States Capitol building by a crowd of Trump supporters. The number of corporations disengaging from Trump is now turning into an avalanche.
Deutsche Bank has been Trump’s largest lender. The Trump Organization, led by his two oldest sons, owes the bank about $ 340 million in outstanding loans. After a series of bankruptcies in the 1990s, it was the only bank willing to give Trump money.
The relationship has survived several scandals. In 2008, Trump sued the bank’s real estate division after defaulting on a payment of $ 40 million, used to finance the construction of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. He accused Deutsche of being one of the causes of the financial crisis and demanded compensation of $ 3 billion.
Instead of leaving him as a client, Deutsche’s private wealth division stepped in and loaned him more money to pay off existing debt. Deutsche has resisted efforts by Democrats in the House and Senate to explain its relationship with Trump and to clarify whether Russian banks or state entities have underwritten any of its debts.
But the bloody events of the past week and the looming threat of a second impeachment appear to have finally persuaded Deutsche managers to end their association with Trump. A Deutsche spokesperson declined to elaborate on Tuesday, telling The Guardian: “We decline to comment.”
It is unclear if the decision extends to other members of the Trump family. President Ivanka Trump’s daughter and son-in-law Jared Kushner are clients of Deutsche.
In recent days, Twitter and Facebook have removed Trump from their platforms, with Trump’s Twitter account permanently suspended. Leading companies like Coca-Cola, the Marriott hotel chain, AT&T, Walmart and General Motors have said they will suspend political donations.
The firms have said they will no longer give money to Republican representatives who have promoted Trump’s false claim that the November election was rigged and that Trump “won.” In the past they have donated to candidates from both parties.
Several of America’s largest banks have said they will also suspend donations from their political action committees. They include JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. According to Reuters, Deutsche had been looking to end its ties with Trump since November, as it had grown weary of negative publicity.
“We are proud of our constitution and we support those who seek to defend it to ensure that the will of the people is respected and a peaceful transition of power takes place,” wrote Christina Riley, Deutsche’s chief US operations officer, last week in LinkedIn.
Another of Trump’s key lenders, Signature Bank, said it was closing its two personal accounts, which had a total of $ 5.3 million in deposits. The New York bank has previously financed Trump’s golf course in Florida. Ivanka Trump sat at her board.
The bank asked Trump to resign. “We witnessed how the President of the United States encouraged the rioters and refrained from calling in the National Guard to protect Congress in the performance of his duty,” he said in a statement.
“At this time, to ensure the peaceful transition of power, we believe that the appropriate action would be the resignation of the President of the United States, which is in the best interest of our nation and the American people.”
On Sunday, the American Professional Golfers Association said it would no longer hold its championship in May 2022 at the Trump Golf Club in New Jersey. His decision to scrap his deal with the Trump Organization allegedly left Trump “shattered.”
“It has become clear that holding the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand and would jeopardize the PGA’s ability to deliver our many programs and maintain the longevity of our mission,” said Jim Richerson. , its president, said in a video statement.
The Trump Organization responded Sunday saying: “We have had a beautiful partnership with the PGA of America and we are incredibly disappointed with their decision. This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement. “
The decision not to use Trump’s resort to host the second of four major tournaments on the tour schedule was a huge loss for a president who has emphasized his portfolio of golf resorts and spent too much time, critics say, in the field while in office.
