A sage once noted that “a man in possession of a large fortune who wishes to be in possession of a small fortune should purchase a hotel.”

In other words, buying a hotel is a dicey gamble.  Our current President surely has experienced this several times in his career.  He once proclaimed himself “the King of Debt.” And he has filed for bankruptcies six times over his vaunted real estate career.  In a September 26, 2016 Washington Post article, it was reported that, “Trump’s Taj Mahal opened in April 1990 in Atlantic City, but six months later, ‘defaulted on interest payments to bondholders as his finances went into a tailspin,’ the Washington Post’s Robert O’Harrow found. In July 1991, Trump’s Taj Mahal filed for  bankruptcy.”  The article continues, saying that Trump declared bankruptcies on two other casinos in 1992, the same year that he also declared bankruptcy with NYC’s Plaza Hotel.  He had amassed so much debt that declaring bankruptcy was his only way out.

But wait, there’s more. Politifact discovered that “Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts filed for bankruptcy again in 2004, after accruing about $1.8 billion in debt. Trump Entertainment Resorts also declared bankruptcy in 2009.”

This guy proved again and again and again that he really knew how to run a casino—into the ground. He obviously was a pro at running up debt.  And now he gets to do it on a much larger scale.

He’s bringing all his great dealmaking prowess, honed over years of shady dealings, and applying it to the problems of our country.  Give more money to the richest among us by reducing their tax rates and minimize the runaway debt that will occur by cutting government agencies.  Not with any particular, carefully thought-out plan, but with machetes wielded by twenty-something hackers who taunt federal workers by telling them their work could be accomplished by artificial intelligence.  Wholesale firings of federal workers are taking place across the nation.

Trump is smart enough to dance with the one that brung him; thus, we have his unlikely alliance with Elon Musk who is rich as Croesus and ready to buy whatever election may be needed.  Once Musk came aboard the campaign, all bets were off.

And best of all, Trump has found himself sitting in a tub of butter. His greatest wishes—to be rich and powerful—have been granted.  He has found a faithful audience for his endless supply of merch—Bibles, sneakers, bitcoin, ad infinitum.  But that stuff is just chump change.  Now he can shake down the world, and he’s just getting started.  Did you see how fast the tech bros lined up to buy his favor?

His talk of buying Greenland and making Canada the 51st state is part bluster, but if he can get someone to go along with him, who knows?

 This failed hotelier has now made the deal of his life by re-entering the Oval Office, and the shakedown is just beginning. I think we’re about to find out if the United States can declare bankruptcy. God help us all.