The Big Cheat

How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family

By: David Cay Johnston

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize­-winning reporter and dean of Trumpologists David Cay Johnston reveals years of eye-popping financial misdeeds by Donald Trump and his family.

While the world watched Donald Trump’s presidency in horror or delight, few noticed that his lifelong grifting quietly continued. Less than 40 minutes after taking the oath of office, Trump began turning the White House into a money machine for himself, his family, and his courtiers.

More than $1.7 billion flowed into Donald Trump’s bank accounts during his four years as president. Foreign governments rented out whole floors of his hotel five blocks from the White House while lobbyists conducted business in the hotel’s restaurants. Payday lenders and other trade groups moved their annual conventions to Trump golf resorts. And individual favor seekers joined his private Mar-a-Lago club with its $200,000 admission fee in hopes of getting a few minutes with the president. Despite earning more than one million dollars every day he was in office, Trump left the White House as he arrived - hard up for cash. More than $400 million in debt comes due by 2024, and Trump still lacks the resources to pay it back.

“Few people are as well positioned to write an exposé of the former president as Johnston” (The Washington Post), and The Big Cheat offers a guided tour of how money flowed in and out of Trump’s hundreds of enterprises, showing in simple terms how a corrupt president used our government for his benefit, even putting national security at risk. Johnston details the four most recent years of the corruption that has defined the Trump family since 1885 and reveals the costs of Trump’s extravagant lifestyle for American taxpayers.

©2021 David Cay Johnston. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Made me so angry!

This book made me so angry because of an average American committed a small percentage of crimes outlined in this book, they would find a “special place’” at the lowest level in a prison to rot for years!

Excellent read

I did not realize how corrupt the Trump & Kushner families were until I listened to this book. Additionally I was unaware how the multiple “public servants” of the Trump administration used the federal government to help themselves and their families to such an extent. Especially, important here is how they did it while telling the gullible amongst the American people the opposite. I think more thought than one chapter is necessary to figure out how to self correct. Once some people get away with self dealing it is difficult to eliminate this as the norm.

Very Informative

The information was comprehensive and well presented. Hats off to the research team you’ve left no stone unturned.

I knew it was bad…but fasten your seat belt

A detailed, thoroughly researched and explained parade of horribles - the orange, short-fingered vulgarian chief (pun intended) among them. My main critique is that they should have had the author read the whole thing. Mr. Campbell has lively delivery but an annoyingly raspy voice.

Great Book

What a Corrupt Admiration Trump had, sad that that the laws don't apply to him or his administration, and they are going to get away with it.

More Confirmation!

The rich continue to do what they’ve always done, look out for their own interests at the peril of working people. The question is how do we get Trump supporters to get passed their other-ism and hate long enough to understand that they were duped by this grifter and his grifter friends and family. Reform is not just needed it’s crucial to our mere existence. Thanks for the facts that support what we all know and sometimes feel powerless to fight against but we can never give in! Know the candidates and choose wisely and PLEASE VOTE!!!

Hm. Maybe not.

A lot of info. It might be me but I got lost trying to remember who was who in some chapters. Not a fan of the narrator either.

Everything - unbelievable graft and lack of shame.

Author knew his stuff and had so much information! Ultimately depressing that such a scoundrel, grifter and gangster was elected president.

I have been waiting for this book

We have been flooded with books about Trump’s political misdeeds, but I have read none about the financial corruption. Johnston writes powerfully and clearly about really blatant violations of legal and constitutional constraints on presidential money-grubbing. While the content is outstanding, the reader’s voice is awful, and I hope his throat recovers from that inflammation.

A MUST FOR EVERY TRUMP SUPPORTER

A must read for every patriot. Please your duty to President Trump and read this book about him. He will be so pleased.