system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Trump was never a good businessman.

 In 2016, one of the main qualities that the Trump campaign boasted was how Trump had built an expansive and successful real estate company from the ground up, and was an excellent businessman. The campaign and Trump himself implied that he would be more than qualified to run a country's economy efficiently, and manage diplomatic relationships through his famous deal making abilities. In my view, his business endeavours were not as successful as most people think.

The timeline can be separated into two sides, before and after he was connected with Deutsche Bank. Before, Trump was having a hard time with his reputation among american banks. Virtually no big bank wanted to take chances with him, and those that did were not keen on investing large sums of money that Trump desperately needed. Trump's army of lawyers desperately looked for loopholes in loans (which isn't uncommon in business), and many banks were tired of loans that couldn't be paid back, and lawyers finding loopholes and sueing. On top of that, he had a history of money laundering and organized crime. Trump has a history of bankruptcies and business failures, that outnumber the wins (which started coming in 1995, a real tipping point for his financial reputation, well after he met Deutsche Bank). Before Deutsche Bank, he was living off his father's name, expectations, money, and reluctant bank loans.

What is Deutsche Bank why are they so important to Trump's business (and even personal) affairs? And why would they want to associate themselves with someone who has a history of bankruptcy, money laundering, and organized crime? In the 80's, Deutsche Bank was a small European bank that didn't really have an international foothold. On top of that, they weren't doing too well financially. Trump was desperate. Deutsche bank was desperate. Deutsche bank decided to take a chance, if Trump could pay back his loans, they would not only be well off financially, but their reputation would flourish (as they would be associated with Trump, a celebrity), and most importantly, gain an international foothold in the US. So they took a gamble.

Trump took the loans. His business still were on the verge of collapsing, but in 1995, Trump Hotels and Casino went public. Even though he was struggling even after that, with multiple bankruptcies, his fortunes generally changed to the positive. He bought the old Bank of Manhattan Trust building for only $1 million, which was probably one of the best deals he ever made, as it's now worth $327 million. But the important thing is, that during and after the 80's, through all the business wins and losses, virtually all the money that he used was from Deutsche Bank. Billions of dollars. And even then, Deutsche Bank paid a price. He sued the only bank that was willing to take a chance with him $3 billion, citing that they were partially responsible for the 2008 financial crisis, and therefore his inability to pay the loan.

But, Deutsche Bank ultimately got what they wanted. Now they are an international bank with almost €1.3 trillion in assets (2019) (17th in the world). Their a huge and influential bank in Europe as well.

So here is the debate that I am interested on hearing, was Trump a good businessman by eventually building several multi billion dollar companies? Even with lawsuits against banks, particularly Deutsche? Or was he never a good businessman all along, because of decades of his business defeats, bankruptcies, scandals, and debt severely outnumber his wins, even with billions of dollars in loans? And how did all these questions tie into his appearance in the 2016 elections?
gpt
If Trump wasn't a good businessman, he wouldn't be rich. Countless children whose parents were wealthy squander all their money on pleasure, and end up dropping down to middle class status. Trump didn't do that. He started off as a millionaire due to his parents, and became a billionaire all on his own.

I don't care if you endorse his methods or even like him as a person. He obviously did at least one thing right in the business world. Calling a billionaire a bad business person is like calling an NBA athlete bad at basketball. It simply doesn't compute, because any NBA player is necessarily one of the best basketball players in the world. Sure, most of them have advantages that made it easier for them, like being born tall, but that's how nature works. And sure, sometimes they have bad games and get punked or upset. 

Likewise, Trump had a head start, sure. Sometimes he made poor decisions. The fact of the matter is that he's one of the wealthiest men in the world, and you don't get to that status without knowing what you're doing.

> He bought the old Bank of Manhattan Trust building for only $1 million, which was probably one of the best deals he ever made, as it's now worth $327 million

Sounds like something a good businessman would do!