Trump Erupts at Forbes Magazine ‘SleazeBags’ Over Coverage of His Company’s Legal Woes: ‘Bad Reporters With Evil Intentions’

AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

President Donald Trump directed his fury at Forbes Magazine on Monday morning, complaining about “bad reporters with evil intentions,” and singling out senior editor Dan Alexander, whom he called “terribly untalented.”

In a post on his Truth Social account just before 10 a.m. ET, the president wrote:

Not that it really matters, but a terribly untalented writer for badly failing Forbes Magazine, Dan Alexander, who probably can’t get a meaningful job in the business, has written so inaccurately about me that it is ridiculous. Many others also, the media is mostly Fake News, but Forbes doesn’t even try to get things right. I haven’t spoken to these SleazeBags in years, they don’t want the facts, and they’re so inaccurate (purposely!) about everything. I would have thought Forbes would be DEAD by now, but it continues to hang around like a bad disease. Isn’t it owned by a hostile nation? Anyway, that’s what happens when you have bad reporters with evil intentions. Eventually the publication dies. I’ve happily seen it over, and over, again!

According to his bio, Alexander leads Forbes’ “money-in-politics” coverage and wrote a book in 2020 regarding Trump’s ” disregard for norms sparked a trickle-down ethics crisis with no precedent in modern American history” titled White House, Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business.

Alexander’s latest article was published on June 20. Headlined “After Years Of Lying, Trump Organization Tries To Figure Out How Big Its Properties Actually Are,” the article covered the long-running practice within the president’s company of misrepresenting its real estate portfolio, which was part of Trump Org’s 2022 tax fraud case in New York, which culminated in a jury entering 17 guilty verdicts against the company in December of that year.

“Donald Trump spent so many years lying about the square footage of his properties that his own company did not even seem sure of their true size,” wrote Alexander. “Under oversight from a court-appointed monitor, the Trump Organization recently tried to sort it all out.”

One of Trump’s “most obvious lies in his yearslong effort to deceive the world about how rich he is,” included nearly tripling the square footage of his penthouse, observed Alexander.

The Forbes writer rejected Trump’s attempts to place the blame for the falsified numbers on his “underlings,” and highlighted the president’s transparent efforts to “lobby” his colleagues for higher rankings in its coverage:

It’s clear how things got mixed up. Donald Trump, for years, claimed that his properties were big, bigger, the biggest. In rare moments, he admitted he was full of it. A lawyer who used to work for Trump, Thomas Wells, once noticed that the number of rooms in the developer’s penthouse was reported differently in various publications—sometimes it had eight, other times 16, or even 30. Wells finally asked Trump how many rooms his home truly contained. The developer’s answer: “However many they will print.”

…There’s no question who is really at fault for all the misdirection: Donald Trump, a man who has been obsessed with size—whether measured in square footage, crowd attendance or net worth—for years. In 2015, Trump took time away from his whirlwind campaign to lobby three journalists for a higher spot on Forbes’ annual ranking of America’s richest people. Trying to boost the value of the commercial space he owns in Trump Tower, he motioned across Fifth Avenue to the Crown Building, which had recently sold for $1.8 billion. “This is bigger,” Trump said, even though the commercial space is actually 25% smaller—roughly. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact size of the space because the Trump Organization has submitted such varying figures to tax authorities and lenders over the years, apparently lying about the commercial space just as Trump lied about the penthouse.

Many of Alexander’s other recent articles cover the Trump family’s ventures into cryptocurrency, often highlighting the concerns voiced by ethics watchdogs about conflicts of interest:

“Trump Company Reduces Stake In Crypto Venture”
While the MAGA faithful continues throwing money at Trump’s crypto projects, the first family appears to be walking off with some of its profits

“How Barron Trump May Have Earned $40 Million From His Dad’s Crypto Venture”
Trump’s oldest children earned a couple million dollars a year working for their dad’s real-estate empire. Barron Trump appears to be earning much more, much faster.

“Crypto Now Accounts For Most Of Donald Trump’s Net Worth”
Over nearly 50 years, the president built a $2.5 billion real-estate empire. Then, in less than five years, he created a crypto kingdom worth even more.

“Trump Secretly Sold Stake In Crypto Venture, Document Suggests”
The Trumps love to talk about their commitment to the crypto industry. Just don’t ask about their deal to sell an interest in one of their ventures.

“This Is How Much Trump Has Made From Crypto—So Far”
The president’s crypto holdings are worth more than any single real estate asset in his portfolio, and even more than the combined value of Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower.

Other recent Alexander-bylined headlines that may have triggered a defensive reaction from the president include:

“It’s Huge! Trump’s Jumbo Jet Obsession Through The Years”
As diplomats around the world struggle to figure out Trump, Qatar may have found the perfect way to please the American president—dangling a supersized gift to stroke his ego.

“Why Don Jr.’s New Club Will Likely Run Bigger Profits Than The Trump Hotel”
The president’s oldest son has a new private club, which seems certain to make big money—and stir up controversy.

Trump’s ire with Alexander seems to be triggered by articles that are at least 10 days old, with some being months older.