Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, criticized the ruling from New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron, which found his family’s company liable for over $350 million in a civil fraud suit.
Trump defended his father, former President Donald Trump, stating that he revitalized and rebuilt much of New York City’s skyline during difficult times in the 1980s and 90s.
“My father built the skyline of New York City: And this is the thanks he gets for doing absolutely nothing wrong,” Eric Trump said.
He highlighted his father’s partnership with Hyatt Hotels in 1976 to revamp the Commodore next to Grand Central Terminal and his feuds with then-Mayor Ed Koch in the 1980s over projects like Wollman Rink in Central Park.
Eric Trump called the ruling against his family’s company “rigged,” suggesting that the lawsuit should have gone through the court’s commercial division, which he believed would have led to a different outcome.
“The best thing I ever did was get out of New York,” Trump said, noting that he has relocated to Jupiter, Florida. He criticized New York as a “hopeless place” and accused Engoron of prejudging his family before the trial began.
Trump defended the Trump Organization’s financial practices, stating that banks, including Deutsche Bank, never claimed to be victims of his father’s alleged property valuation manipulations. He emphasized that his family always paid its debts on time and provided employment for thousands of New Yorkers.
“Every single [bank] has called us a platinum borrower; again, never [had] a default,” he said. Trump also highlighted the Trump Organization’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the company ensured all employees were taken care of when the hospitality industry was severely impacted.
“Guess who paid all of their employees? Guess who always did the right thing? Guess who employs thousands of New Yorkers every single day; puts food on the table for their families…” he said.