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Trump Scooped The NYT Tax Bombshell On National Television 15 Years Ago

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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President Donald Trump scooped the New York Times bombshell tax report over a decade ago during the premiere episode of NBC’s “The Apprentice” in 2004.

On Tuesday, the NYT released a report detailing the president’s business tax information from the late 1980s and early 1990s. That report indicated that Trump had claimed $1 billion in business losses and had paid very little in taxes. (RELATED: Someone Leaked 10 Years Of Trump’s Tax Info To The New York Times)

But anyone who watched Trump’s NBC show “The Apprentice” from the very beginning was aware of the huge business losses — they were mentioned in the opening segment of the premiere episode, which aired January 8, 2004.

WATCH:

Trump introduced the show by talking about the business climate in Manhattan, saying that it could “chew you up and spit you out.” He claimed to be the largest real estate developer in New York, touting his buildings all over the world.

But then he revealed that the road to success had not always been easy.

“It wasn’t always so easy. About 13 years ago, I was seriously in trouble. I was billions of dollars in debt,” he began. “But I fought back and I won big league. I used my brain. I used my negotiating skills. And I worked it all out.”

The NYT echoed Trump’s own story in Tuesday’s report:

The numbers show that in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade.

Mr. Trump’s 2005 returns … showed that by then he had significant sources of income and was paying taxes.

The president responded to the NYT report by saying that massive losses were often shown for tax purposes and that the entire report was “highly inaccurate.”

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