While many on the left are cheering the recent civil fraud ruling ordering Trump to pay $355 million, famed entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary has been teaching a MasterClass on why it is unjust and could destroy New York.
One person who defended the verdict is CNN’s Laura Coates, who clearly doesn't understand the implications or perhaps even the details of the case.
"Wouldn't there be many companies who would not want to do business or loan money to people like yourself for investors if they know that they can get away with fraud and there's no recourse to protect them?" she asked.
"Excuse me, what fraud?" he asked. "This is not about Trump anymore."
"I know," she claimed.
"When you get a developer that builds a building and he says it's worth 400 million, and he wants to borrow 200 million from a bank, which happens every day everywhere on Earth, including every American city — every developer is an entrepreneur, they shine the light on their building, and they say it's worth 400. The bank does its own due diligence — as was done in this case, because they're very good at it, the banks are very good — and they say no, it's worth 300, we're only going to loan you 150 million. That haggling has gone on for decades, that's how it works."
O'Leary continued, "And then, in this case, even the bank that was supposedly defrauded, testified and said we didn't lose anything. We want to do business with this guy again, we'd like to, but the judge said, 'No, no, no, no, no, no, let's penalize this developer for $355 million. And if we're going to do that, let's penalize all the developers all across America. They've all done the same thing. All of them should go to jail and we should stop building buildings.' That's what the message is from New York. Even the governor herself is concerned about what this looks like to investors all around the world. It's not just U.S. domestic. All around the world, people are talking about what happened here. You really think people want to invest money in New York after this?"
Coates then attempted to support the argument that Letitia James' suit was "about making the playing field level for those who are not the major and billionaire investors, but for those who are supposed to put business records out there, want to get a loan, the idea of making sure that they have to have the same true statements included as those who have a lot more money." She asked O'Leary, "Is there any weight to that for you?"
O'Leary wasn't buying her ridiculous argument. "Well, I asked you 'Who lost money?'" he replied. Then he presented her with a hypothetical where she and he were seeking to invest in a data center and asked whether she would rather invest in a state that is pro-business and supports entrepreneurs or New York.
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"Why would we go to New York? Why take the risk?" he asked. "My only point is, did we just diminish the great state of New York and the great people of New York? And shouldn't they ask for better management so they don't become a flyover state? Remember, New York has the highest taxes in the country, the worst regulatory environment, and it's incredibly mismanaged. And I pointed out now, on top of that, you get this insanity, a victimless crime. "
O'Leary reiterated that this isn't about Trump. "I don't care about Trump in this. I care about America, and I care about entrepreneurship, and I care about democracy and the fairness. The judicial system is now being criticized. People are asking themselves — the bar of New York — is this judge rational to charge $355 million in a case where no one lost any money? Is that good for the people of New York? Should the people of New York wake up to this and say 'What's happening to us? Why is this becoming so perverse? Why are we the focus of this injustice?' [It has] nothing to do with Trump. I'm not supporting Trump, I'm supporting American entrepreneurship, and New York is slowly becoming the number one loser state in America. I'm sorry. That's what's happening."
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