The Greek debt talks added a new voice on Tuesday. It might not have been the voice of reason— or even expertise in international economics, but it was the voice of The Donald. Trump, that is.
In announcing his candidacy for U.S. presidency, Trump called Greece “unsalvageable” as he warned that America, with its own mounting debt, could end up just like it.
“We’re at $8 trillion now. We’re soon going to be at $20 trillion,” Trump said from the Trump Tower in Manhattan. “At $24 trillion, that’s the point of no return. $24 trillion. We will be there soon. That’s when we become Greece! That’s when we become a country that’s unsalvageable.”
Just before mentioning Greece, Trump was holding a report from his accountant in the air and boasting of his own personal wealth, which stands at $9.240 billion (he said he has $500 million in liabilities). Expressed as a function of Greek GDP — $242.2 billion in 2013, according to the World Bank’s latest numbers — Trump’s fortune is worth just under 4 percent of Greece’s annual economic output.
