Being president is a 'loser' financially, Trump says


Yes, his position gives him more exposure than anyone else on Earth, and sure, foreign dignitaries have been booking blocks of rooms in his U.S. hotels since the election, but President Trump doesn't want anyone to think he's making money off of being president.
Financially speaking, being president is a "loser," Trump told The New York Times during an interview Thursday. "I lost massive amounts of money doing this job. This is not the money. This is one of the great losers of all time. You know, fortunately, I don't need money. This is one of the great losers of all time."
When people bring up the fact that "somebody from some country stayed at a hotel," Trump responds with, "'Yeah.' But I lose, I mean, the numbers are incredible." He did not elaborate on said numbers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Aimee Betro: the Wisconsin woman who came to Birmingham to kill
In the Spotlight US hitwoman wore a niqab in online lover's revenge plot
-
Facial recognition vans and policing
The government is rolling out more live facial recognition technology across England
-
Dive in! The best children's books to spark a love of reading
The Week Recommends These gripping stories will keep kids hooked until the last page
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National Guard
Speed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crime
Speed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline