This has served a specific purpose for the president as the money he earned from the licensing of the Trump brand has almost canceled out the reported losses from his operating businesses, allowing his organization to claim that it earns no money and therefore doesn’t have to pay taxes. This is a trick Trump has played before as he would use the near total collapse of his businesses the early 1990s to help reduce his taxes in the following years.
It certainly appears that he has used his position first as the leading presidential candidate and then as commander and chief to help rescue his ailing businesses. Although his run for the presidency saw an increase in memberships at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida that netted him $5 million since 2015, he has also received large payments from lobbyists, politicians and foreign officials through his many properties.
