Failed businessman Trump loses $25 million on his prized Scottish golf courses in just a year

Companies House, which requires companies in the United Kingdom to file financial statements on their annual returns, made the Trump internal financials public. Trump has refused to release his IRS tax returns, breaking a tradition followed by both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years.

The Trump Turnberry golf club lost $23 million in 2016 while Trump was campaigning for president. He even took time for a photo op at Turnberry during the campaign — as revenue dropped 21 percent.

Bloomberg noted that “Trump’s divisiveness does appear to be keeping some visitors away,” and spoke to a member who said the pro shop at the property tried to get rid of gear branded with Trump’s name on it by offering two-for-one deals. Visitors weren’t buying the Trump merchandise.

Trump International Golf Links, in Aberdeen, also did terribly. Losses were up 28 percent, over $1.8 million, while revenue tumbled 12 percent.

While he has repeatedly claimed to be a savvy and successful businessman, Trump has never made money on his Scottish golf clubs.

He has continued to pour money into them — Bloomberg reports that he loaned the Turnberry club $82 million in 2015, and another $147 million in 2016 — but the properties continue to be in the red. He also loaned the Aberdeen property $53 million in a so far fruitless attempt to make the business there work.

His sons Eric and Donald Jr. are currently in control of the company’s day-to-day operations, but Trump has not divested from his holdings, nor has he done so for his many other companies and holdings. The arrangement is a departure from American norms, and has created an ethical swamp, where Trump is able to make decisions from the presidency that personally enrich him.

Previous presidents either sold their interests in companies or other ventures, or placed their shares in a blind trust.

Trump has had to declare six different bankruptcies with his businesses, including mismanagement that led him to the humiliation of having to shutter the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, which defaulted on interest payments only six months after Trump opened it.

He continues to tout his business experience while trying to push policies like repealing Obamacare and pushing a tax hike for middle-class families, but his track record is terrible, even across the pond.