Trump’s ‘only choice’ may be to declare bankruptcy as $454M bond deadline looms, top business writer says

Former President Donald Trump could be forced to declare bankruptcy if he’s unable to post the $454 million bond in his civil fraud trial by Monday’s deadline, according to a leading business writer.

Bestselling author and financial journalist Bill Cohan said he sees no other way out for the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee in an interview with Puck reporter Peter Hamby on his “The Powers that Be” podcast Sunday, Mediaite reported.

“I think that’s his only choice at this point,” Cohen said about a bankruptcy filing. “The only way he’s going to — unless the court of appeals comes through for him and reduces the amount of what he has to pay, or the bond, or gives him more time. Again, I don’t see a New York State court of appeals doing that for this guy. Why should they? But they might.”

Attorneys for Trump filed papers arguing that the 2024 presidential candidate is facing “insurmountable difficulties” in securing the massive $454 million bond by the March 25 deadline, calling on an appeals court to give him more time.

Trump approached more than 30 firms in an attempt to obtain the funds but was unsuccessful.

He also boasted on social media Friday that he had “almost” $500 million in cash — more than enough to cover the bond.

“Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president,” Trump, 77, wrote in all caps on Truth Social.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won the landmark case against the ex-president, told ABC News last month that she would pursue going after Trump’s Manhattan real estate portfolio if he fails to pay the judgment against him.

“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James said.

Cohan said if his attorneys’ Hail Mary appeals court request fails, Trump will be “out of luck,” and have to file for personal bankruptcy.

“Because that way, he can stay the judgment, stay any asset sales, buy himself a whole lot of time,” he said, suggesting going into bankruptcy court could delay the proceedings by another year.

However, the financial journalist said the best outcome Trump could see is the State of New York becoming “a general and secured creditor” of the Trump Organization, or even Trump personally, the outlet writes.

“That’s probably his best way to reducing the size of the judgment. It’s his best way of having like an orderly sale of his assets,” Cohan said.

“He will lose the assets, absolutely. He’ll have to pay the judgment. But it would all be done in a much more timely, slower, more orderly way than in the next five days.”