Donald Trump says he's making more money because people 'really dig' his campaign

In a once-confidential deposition obtained by The Washington Post, GOP candidate Donald Trump claims his businesses are exceptionally profitable right now — his Palm Beach hotel is reportedly enjoying "the best year we've ever had" — because of how much people like his campaign:
Question: Do you think that there are some Hispanic patrons who would be less likely to patronize any restaurant in any of your hotels or any of your properties?Trump: It's — it is always possible. I just don't know. I mean, I don't know how to answer that question. It's possible. But, likewise, there could be some people that will come because of whatever it is. You know, because of a candidate.Question: And why do you think, for example, the Palm Beach property is doing particularly well? I think you said earlier it's —Trump: Because I think people like politics.Question: Politics?Trump: Yeah. And they like to be around the name and maybe me. I go there, you know. But I think — I think people really dig it. [The Washington Post]
Recent polling shows Trump lagging behind rival Hillary Clinton nationally and in key swing states. Meanwhile, the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, no longer owned by Trump but still bearing his name, is scheduled to close its doors for good at the beginning of September.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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