from? this president broke precedent by maintaining his interest in the trump org increasing the need to see taxes. that income includes more than $40 million from his trump international hotel in washington d.c. it s one of the few listed interests to show any kind of real growth. joining me now two men that follow his number closely. trump biographer david k. johnston and co-host of the trump inc broadcast. for all the talk about how great the economy is revenue gain in short supply for the president s portfolio. david, what do you see and hear that people need to know? well, first of all, his income isn t 434 million. that s the revenue of his businesses. fair point. his income is likely to be only 5 or 10% of that and he shows over $300 million of lo s loans. so he s paying a lot of interest
a tale of greed, loyalty and intimidation. michael cohen describes why working for trump was like working for a mob boss. how did that dynamic come about? a trump biographer weighs in next. this place. it can t be found on just any map. a place miles from the beaten path. overcoming twists and turns. ups and downs. whatever life throws. a place to always strive for. for all the journeys that make us stronger. you see clear skin. cosentyx can help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis find clear skin that can last. don t use if you re allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms,
if he were loyal, he would have given michael cohen a job in the administration. he would have given him a pretty good job. i believe that michael cohen did not get a job because his children, donald trump s children, saw michael as part of a servant class. they saw him as a guy who was good at being a thug. reporter: the white house has not weighed in on the comparisons to the mob. white house press secretary sarah sanders has called michael cohen a disgraced felon and said, it s laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like cohen at his word. brian todd, cnn, washington. joining us now, a trump biographer and author of the book, the trumps, three generations of builders and a president. we heard all about this culture around president trump being compared to the mob. based on your own experience and observations, is that a fair comparison? no paper trail. that s what the people who work for him told me.
trump ran as a political infomercial and he thought running for the presidency was about enriching himself. even more, he thought he was going to profit off the president. when he was president, he continued that criminal activity. michael cohen is going to have, if he sticks to the opening statements that pbs newshour has a check written by president trump to michael cohen, if he sticks to this, it s going to be an explosive day and president trump is not going to be able to only focus on vietnam. well, president trump and his supporters and the conservative media are pushing this idea that michael cohen is simply a rat. tim, i mentioned it earlier, you re a trump biographer but you wrote a column about the testimony and you called it the centerpiece of what may it be broader public s first vivid exposure to the financial and ethical conflicts as well as illegalities ha have swirled around trump and his entourage for a long time. as i said you wrote a book on
donald trump has a history some say an obsession with making people sign nda, both for his businesses and his private life. trump s lawyer drew up this nda between trump and stormy daniels who says she once had an affair with trump which he denied. trump has lashed out at former employees who he claimed violated an nda she signed with the 2016 campaign when she wrote a it will-all book. low life. she s a low life. a trump biographer says his preoccupation with ndas speaks volumes about the culture and his own paranoia. this idea of someone speaking negatively about him makes him furious and it makes him eager to exact revenge. the irony is that cliff simms says he admires trump and his agenda, saying trump is getting bad advice from the people around him.