Conmen don’t change. 35 years ago @realDonaldTrump pulled his Mexico Wall scam “we’ll build it and they’ll pay for it” when he he was owner of New Jersey Generals in USFL and signed @DougFlutie and asked other owners to pay his contract. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/02/sports/trump-asks-help-in-paying-flutie.html

Here’s the letter via @jeffpearlman

The parallels from the USFL don’t end there. Conmen prey on the weak. @realDonaldTrump walked all over and insulted his opponents who came down with cancer in John McCain and John Bassett, owner of Tampa Bay Bandits. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/06/06/book-trump-celebrated-john-mccain-brain-cancer-mocked-meghan-mccain/1365853001/

Conmen like @realDonaldTrump prey on the needy. He tells them what they want to hear. Like when he plays on the religious and their desire to open churches. That’s for him, not them. Like his long-standing feud with USFL playing on the “patriotism” angle. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/14/trumps-ownership-of-usfls-new-jersey-generals-fueled-anthem-fight-with-nfl.html

Conmen never stop trying to advance their position and pull more people into their con. Like when @realDonaldTrump had secret meetings with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Trump got into the USFL as a way to weasel his way into the NFL behind closed doors. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/11/the-day-donald-trumps-narcissism-killed-the-usfl

In the end, @realDonaldTrump couldn’t join the NFL so he tried to take them on & convinced the other owners to join him in lawsuit over having a TV monopoly. But Trump used himself as the star witness & was “such a thug and so unlikeable” that they were only awarded $1 dollar.

Some more info on the lawsuit and how it played out. https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-nfl-league-usfl-sued-tweet-three-dollars-2017-9

And here’s the original article from 1986 about the USFL lawsuit vs the NFL. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/30/sports/usfl-loses-in-antitrust-case-jury-assigns-just-1-in-damages.html

Thank you very much @jeffpearlman for your amazing book about USFL football and for your candid interviews outlining the parallels we see today. Those type of business dealings should’ve been a stark warning in 2015 about Trump the President instead of where we are at today.