White House counselor Alina Habba was widely mocked after bragging on Fox News that the Trump administration is running the country "like President [Donald] Trump runs the Trump Organization"—and critics were quick to give her a history lesson.
Habba appeared on the network to defend the federal spending cuts initiated by billionaire Elon Musk's (non-department) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and made the following ludicrous statement:
"This is what we're talking about. We're running this country like President Trump runs the Trump Organization, like Elon Musk running X."
"That's what we're doing and if you want your budget balanced, if you don't want to have a deficit, who better to do so than a businessman that understands how to make money, how to spend money, and how to get out of debt. That's what we're going to do."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
While Trump has never declared personal bankruptcy, his businesses have reportedly filed for bankruptcy at least four times — and some accounts put the total at six. In response to criticism, Trump has fought lawsuits and defended these filings as strategic financial decisions, arguing that bankruptcy is sometimes a necessary tool for businesses and that each filing was a sound move given the circumstances.
Trump’s companies have used Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows a business to continue operating while restructuring its debt. Under Chapter 11, the bankruptcy court oversees a corporate budget and a repayment plan for remaining debts — often resulting in significant losses for shareholders.
As for the Trump Organization itself, things aren't much better. In 2022, a jury found two of the Trump Organization entities guilty on charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. Then in 2023, in the case New York vs. Trump et al, Judge Engoron ruled that Trump's family and the Trump Organization had committed fraud for years and then in 2024 assessed Trump and his companies $354 million of disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest.
So, you sure that's the best analogy, Alina?
She was widely mocked as a result.
Habba has typically made headlines for her often laughable justifications for Trump's actions.
Last year, she said Trump's love of reading was the reason he appeared to fall asleep during jury selection on day one of his hush money trial. After New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported that Trump "appeared to nod off a few times," Habba said any suggestion Trump fell asleep is "a remarkable story at best."
Video also circulated of Habba saying that Trump would have "no issues" securing a bond, words that came back to haunt her after Trump's team revealed he couldn't come up with a $454 million bond he owed New York Attorney General Letitia James after he was found liable in a civil fraud case. The bond was later reduced to $175 million.
Habba had earlier said that Trump was not afraid to testify at the fraud trial, a claim that fell apart as soon as Trump declared on Truth Social that he would not testify in "a fake case against me" that he branded an "election interference witch hunt."
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