Opinion: Donald Trump’s rough run: Now he’s being sued by hundreds of property investors

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Donald Trump has not had the best few weeks.

His slide began when President Obama called the Trump’s bluff by releasing his official long-form Hawaii birth certificate. Then, after a Navy SEALs team killed Osama bin Laden, the president’s live announcement cut into the the end of ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’ on the East coast.

In an attempt to distance themselves from the unseemly world of politics, the bigwigs at the Indianapolis 500 decided to replace Trump, who has hinted at running for president, with racing legend A.J. Foyt as the driver of the Chevy Camaro pace car during the opening lap of the 100th anniversary of the car race.

And now the New York Times is reporting that hundreds of people are suing Trump and his associates, alleging deceptive real estate practices in which buyers believe they are investing in Trump property only to discover the billionaire had ‘rented his name to the developments and had no responsibility for their outcomes.’

‘In each case, he yanked his name off the projects, which were never completed,’ Michael Barbaro wrote in an article titled ‘Buying a Trump Property, or So They Thought’ that appeared on the front page of the paper on Friday. ‘The buyers lost millions of dollars in deposits even as Mr. Trump pocketed hefty license fees,’ Barbaro reported.

Trump and Barbaro were scheduled to talk about the article on CNBC, but when Barbaro didn’t appear, the ever-reserved Trump called him a ‘terrible reporter’ who ‘didn’t have the guts’ face off against him on the cable channel because ‘he doesn’t have any facts.’ Then the businessman focused his vitriol on the Gray Lady.

‘It’s interesting that the Times does this on a couple of licensing deals when they sell their property ... for $120 million, $175 million to people that I know [who] flip the building for $500 million a short time later,’ Trump said. ‘This is the New York Times writing about me with a couple of licensing deals.’

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