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David Cay Johnston

Monday 4th of May 2026

Bad news Most reporters accurately quote what they are told, but don't know much about the underlying issues. For Trump and others like him, this makes it easy to manipulate most of the press. Those who see through that manipulation and make connections themselves get a different response: complaints to editors, threats of litigation, and occassionally public denunciations. David Cay Johnston, The Making of Donald Trump  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Democracy  Democracies do not die dramatically. They slowly fade away. David Cay Johnston, It's Even Worse Than You Think  © 2019 Kwiple.com
Journalism The skeptical credo of the investigative reporter: If your mother says she loves you, check it out. David Cay Johnston © 2016 Kwiple.com
Money Money, it seems, was made to flow uphill. David Cay Johnston, Perfectly Legal © 2016 Kwiple.com
Penny pinchers in 1990, Trump and Khashoggi were again linked througha prank designed to find out who was the cheapest rich person in New York. The satirical magazine Spy created a phony business and sent $1.11 refund checks to fifty-eight rich New Yorkers. Those who cashed the checks then got another refund check from the fake firm for half as much money. The prank ended when only two self-proclaimed billionaire penny pinchers Donald Trump and Adnan Khashoggi had the dubious distinction of endorsing and depositing into their bank accounts fake refund checks for thirteen cents each. David Cay Johnston, The Making of Donald Trump  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Taxes As often as Trump overstates his properties' worth … he also understates or even hides debts and other liabilities and encumbrances, like mortgages. … Trump's ninety-two page [financial] disclosure report [that Congress requires of presidential candidates] valued one of his best-known properties at $50 million. But he told tax authorities the same property was worth $1 million. David Cay Johnston, The Making of Donald Trump © 2016 Kwiple.com
Taxes  In the early 1990s … Congress reinstated a tax rule allowing real estate professionals who manage their property to take unlimited deductions against their other income. … The reinstated tax provision … meant that legally Trump would not pay income taxes, provided he had enough depreciation to offset his other income. Trump would likely have that much depreciation every year, assuming that the value of his buildings is indeed as high as listed on the financial disclosure form he filed as a candidate for president. David Cay Johnston, The Making of Donald Trump  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Taxes What is commonly referred to as the tax code might be better described as two codes: one that forces most Americans to account for every nickel of income they earn, and another that allows the wealthy to reveal or conceal [it] at their discretion. David Cay Johnston © 2017 Kwiple.com
Trumpism This is a presidency marked by chaotic lurching actions that often make no sense, leaving even some top Trump appointees baffled. The political termites Trump has loosed into our government are a wrecking crew doing damage not so obvious because they eat away at the foundations of good government … This is a kakistocracy, a government of the worst people. The Trump administration can be described with three words: Dissemble, Dismantle, and Destroy. David Cay Johnston, It's Even Worse Than You Think © 2019 Kwiple.com
Trumpism  The Trump presidency is about Trump. Period. Full stop. David Cay Johnston, It's Even Worse Than You Think  © 2019 Kwiple.com
 
Wealth inequality When Donald was still in diapers, he and his siblings had a trust fund. His share was about $12,000 a year, which in the late nineteen forties was roughly four times the typical income for a married couple with children if the husband held a full-time job. David Cay Johnston, The Making of Donald Trump  © 2016 Kwiple.com