My coffee with a Trump supporter
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I finally found a Trump supporter 鈥 this morning when I went to buy coffee. (I noticed a Trump bumper sticker on his car.)
鈥淗i,鈥 I said. 鈥淣oticed your Trump bumper sticker.鈥
鈥淵up,鈥 he said, a bit defensively.
鈥淚 hope you don鈥檛 mind my asking, but I鈥檓 curious. Why are you supporting him?鈥
鈥淚 know he鈥檚 a little bit much,鈥 said the Trump supporter. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 a successful businessman. And we need a successful businessman as president.鈥
鈥淗ow do you know he鈥檚 a successful businessman?鈥 I asked.
鈥淏ecause he鈥檚 made a fortune.鈥
鈥淗as he really?鈥 I asked.
鈥淥f course. Forbes magazine says he鈥檚 worth four and a half billion.鈥
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檚 been a success,鈥 I said.
鈥淚n my book it does,鈥 said the Trump supporter.
鈥淵ou know, in 1976, when Trump was just starting his career, he said he was worth about $200 million,鈥 I said. 鈥淢ost of that was from his father.鈥
鈥淭hat just proves my point,鈥 said the Trump supporter. 鈥淗e turned that $200 million into four and a half billion. Brilliant man.鈥
鈥淏ut if he had just put that $200 million into an index fund and reinvested the dividends, he鈥檇 be worth twelve billion today,鈥 I said.
The Trump supporter went silent.
"And he got about $850 million in tax subsidies, just in New York alone,鈥 I said.
More silence.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not a businessman,鈥 I said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a con man. "Hope you enjoy your coffee.鈥
This story originally appeared on .