Donald Trump mailed $6,900 to support Giuliani's re-election. It was returned.

Giuliani returned a check Trump sent to support his reelection.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 23 February 2016

Donald Trump is not very good at making friends in his hometown of New York City. He doesn't belong to New York trade groups like the Real Estate Board or the Association for a Better New York. Top ten lists lauding major condominium developers and lists of influencers in the real estate business overlook him. Even Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's never even met Trump.

But Trump's troubles don't end there: The real estate mogul also alienates contractors by refusing to pay them thousands of dollars, The New York Times reports. Then there is the fact that JPMorgan, Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are not currently loaning to Trump; 15 companies associated with Trump owe banks over $270 million, a debt that could actually be much higher than reported.

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…Mr. Trump could appear naïve about the mechanics of campaign finance. In 1996, eager to support Rudolph W. Giuliani's re-election bid as mayor, he enclosed two checks totaling $6,900 in a letter addressed to the Republican mayor and mailed to City Hall. The money was later returned, according to Mr. Giuliani's public archives. [The New York Times]

Read more about Trump's New York presence, or lack thereof, in The New York Times.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.