351

Donald Trump's court battle over claims he inflated his property values by $2.2 billion doesn't seem to have deflated anyone's appetite.

A large order of McDonald's was lugged into the Manhattan court on Monday during the lunch break in Trump's $250 million civil fraud trial.

Staff in dark suits were spotted carrying the brown paper bags into the Centre Street complex after the former president listened to prosecutors accuse him of decades of 'lies' over his business empire.

It's not clear who ordered the haul of fast food, but Trump is known to enjoy an occasional meal from the Golden Arches.

His favorite meal is a Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake.

Earlier this year, he told the workers he knew the menu better than they did during a visit to a McDonald's in East Palestine, Ohio.

He then gave burgers to members of the community devastated by a toxic train derailment.

One of his most famous White House events was when he gave the National Championship-winning Clemson University football team an order from his favorite fast food venue.

The court food order followed a dramatic morning session where Trump's lawyers said he was actually worth more than amounts prosecutors claim were fraudulent.

Trump's team also said Mar-a-Lago - which prosecutors said should be valued at as little as $18 million - is actually worth more than $ 1 billion.

In a combative defense opening statement Trump lawyer Alina Habba said: 'There is a person out there who will buy that (Mar-A-Lago) for over $1 billion. That’s not fraud, that’s real estate.'

Earlier, Trump, 77, scowled and shook his head as prosecutors accused him of 'lying year after year' to exaggerate the value of his property empire by $2.2 billion to obtain favorable bank loans.

In extraordinary scenes inside New York Supreme Court the judge Arthur Engoron grinned for TV cameras as Trump sat looking sternly on, at one point muttering under his breath.

Habba told the court the amount prosecutors claimed was fraudulent was 'frankly less than what they (the Trump family) are worth’.

She said the true value of Trump’s net worth would include his personal brand from shows like The Apprentice.

'There’s a lot of people in this room that probably don’t like that but it’s a fact,' she said.

Habba claimed Trump’s Florida golf course Doral was also worth over $1 billion, sparking laughter in the public gallery.

She said it was ‘one of the best golf courses in the country’, and praised the Trump Organization as a ‘beautiful company’. She added: ‘Real estate is malleable but there was absolutely no intent to defraud, no conspiracy’.

The case set a ‘very dangerous precedent for all business owners in the state of New York,’ she said.

Just before entering the courtroom a combative Trump delivered an explosive tirade in which he railed against the 'rogue' judge and 'racist horror show' attorney general Letitia James, who brought the case.

Trump could face up to $250 million in fines and the potential loss of his licenses for buildings including Trump Tower in New York.

'This is a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time,' Trump said before going into court. 'It's a scam. It's a sham. There was no crime. The crime is against me.'

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 94 points 1 year ago

His favorite meal is a Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake.

Friendly reminder that when he was booked in Atlanta they listed his weight at 215lbs.

[-] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

I'm not nearly as portly as him, I'm 5'10" 200lbs. There's absolutely no way he's 215

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] plz1@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

"They got McDonald's for lunch" is a fucking newsworthy event? FFS

[-] OrangeJoe@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

This an article from the daily mail, I don't think it counts as news.

[-] plz1@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago
[-] loopedcandle@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 year ago

That's how this guy wins. And it pisses me off.

This is not news. But someone reports it and his damned name gets broadcast all over again.

load more comments (7 replies)
[-] TechyDad@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

I'm watching my calories (need to drop a few pounds) and my first thought was: Do you know how many calories are in a Big Mac, Filet-of-Fish, fries, and a milkshake?!!!

Of course, I had to figure it out. Assuming a small fries and small milkshake (and let's be honest, be probably gets the biggest ones not the smallest), it would be 1,652 calories. The average person should eat 2,200 to 3,200 calories a day. So this lunch would be Trump eating 52% to 75% of his daily calories in one meal.

[-] kmartburrito@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That's why homie has a dump truck of an ass

Edit - hilarious , I thought I should cite my claim, and found this jewel, I legit made my statement before finding this page

[-] Conyak@lemmy.tf 7 points 1 year ago

That is why trump is fat. Does anyone think he is actually in good shape?

[-] TechyDad@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Given how he eats and how he thinks that exercise "depletes your battery" and is thus actually bad for you, it's no surprise that he's so heavy.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Godric@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

Who the fuck cares, how is this news 😂

[-] logicbomb@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago

If you read the entire article, it's pretty clear that this is a fluff piece for Trump.

They order McDonalds to give an excuse for the story, then The Daily Mail can just repeat Trump's propaganda. For example, they talk about how Trump served McDonalds at the WH, but not about how poorly that went over.

They say that "the prosecutor" is saying that Mar-a-Lago is worth only $18 million, but those are numbers that came from Trump's tax filings when he was defrauding the government to pay less in taxes. Those numbers came from Trump.

They quote Trump and his lawyers over and over, but don't bother posting quotes from people critical to Trump.

So no, this is not news. It's propaganda.

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Thank you, I refused to click it on principle.

[-] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 year ago

They could've mentioned several other food stories related to the cheeto, such as when he declared that he would buy everyone's food in a restaurant and then promptly left without spending a dime, or the time he ate a taco bowl to try to win over hispanic voters.

The Mail continues to be a fucking rag.

[-] SatanicNotMessianic@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is news because one of the single biggest con men in American - perhaps world - history is trying to get away with crimes that are fully in the public record, and half of the political might of the country is willing to go along with it and shield him from repercussions because he’s a populist autocrat without whom they cannot win.

[-] Steeve@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

What the fuck does that have to do with his weird lunch order lol

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Maybe run that story instead instead of this moronic swill, this is right up there with Tswift attending a sports game in terms of newsworthiness

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (6 replies)
[-] Rapidcreek@reddthat.com 32 points 1 year ago

Nyc One of the greatest places in the world to get lunch. Every type of cuisine in the world. Chinese, japanese, italian, indian, jewish deli, He coulda gotten a pastrami sandwich from katz’s, a slice of margerita from lombardi’s The eggplant parm from parm, anything from eataly Moo shu from shun lee dynasty, the curry from brick lane, Dumplings from mr dumpling, pierogies from veselka, Sushi from nobu

But no He ordered from mcdonalds. He should be indicted for THAT.

[-] Borkingheck@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Stop gate keeping food bruh

[-] SwampYankee@mander.xyz 5 points 1 year ago

Is McDonald's food?

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] adaveinthelife@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 year ago

It at the very least plays to his base, who likely have a McDonald's in town. Where as the curry from brick Lane likely wouldn't sit well with his followers, let alone his own digestive system.

[-] rob64@startrek.website 4 points 1 year ago

Yeah but they wouldn't know. It wouldn't be news.

[-] Rapidcreek@reddthat.com 3 points 1 year ago

I think he's afraid of being poisoned

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] nyoooom@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Wtf are those glasses lmao

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 year ago

They look like something you loot off of a random NPC in Cyberpunk 2077.

[-] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I laughed out loud when I zoomed in

[-] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

Fraud makes you crave hamburders

[-] jarfil@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

In a combative defense opening statement Trump lawyer Alina Habba said: 'There is a person out there who will buy that (Mar-A-Lago) for over $1 billion. That’s not fraud, that’s real estate.'

So... fraud.

[-] SwampYankee@mander.xyz 25 points 1 year ago

There is a person out there who will buy Mar-A-Lago for over $1 billion. That person is an Eastern European national involved in the international human trafficking of Eastern European teenage girls under the guise of "modeling" who's massively overpaying in order to launder money.

[-] scytale@lemm.ee 18 points 1 year ago

The IRS should take notes everytime his lawyers exaggerate his net worth, then bill him for the appropriate amount of taxes.

[-] PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

There's nothing to charge him for unless he sells the properties.

[-] fne8w2ah@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

Another hamberders and covfefe order?

Left or right aside here, it’s laughable that these people can commit fraud of the highest order but god forbid someone steals a sandwich and catches a charge.

Or tries to pass off a fake note and gets murdered.

Or any number of tangible examples.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

My god, his poor colon. I know he's horrible, but what did his colon do to deserve this sort of torture?

[-] Clent@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Think of his poor gut microbes. They are the only the intelligence to be found in the meat sack, occasionally referred to as Trump.

What heinous acts could they have possible committed to be reincarnated into such a vile host

[-] Blapoo@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I feel like this may be one of the most critical points in Trump's story.

If they rule he was undervaluing his brand, it will will amount to: "Nah bruh. You ain't worth shit"

Flip it: If he's able to do the business thing and convince them he's that valuable. . . He kind of confirms it.

Either way, we'll get some kind of answer to a fun question: Exactly how valuable is Trump?

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

It's a catch 22.

If he somehow wins this, then it means his worth is what he said on loans, and proves he under paid taxes.

But losing this isn't an automatic win on his taxes, because in all likelihood he lied on both.

[-] VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf 5 points 1 year ago

How ridiculous is Trump?

He's "fascist being dunked on by the world's #1 fascist fan zine, The Daily Mail" ridiculous! 😲

[-] Lexam@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

Mmm cold McDonald's fries.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 2 points 1 year ago

What? He didn’t invite a champion sports team to enjoy it with him this time?

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
351 points (86.6% liked)

politics

19120 readers
2920 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS