Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has denounced the $454 million bond that Donald Trump is facing as an ‘attack on America.’
The 69-year-old veteran investor accused Judge Arthur Engoron of overseeing a ‘dress-up court of children holding a Halloween party without adult supervision.’
Earlier this week, Trump’s lawyers said he could not post bail in his civil fraud case by the March 25 deadline. That prompted officials to take steps to seize his properties in Westchester, New York.
It emerged on Friday that Trump could get a $3.3 billion windfall from his stake in his Truth Social, his rival to X. But that may not help him as he cannot access the cash for six months.
But O’Leary used two interviews on Fox News to slam the ‘extraordinary punishment’.
O’Leary used two interviews on Fox News to slam the “extraordinary punishment” of the former president
Donald Trump claimed he has half a billion dollars in cash in a series of angry posts on Truth Social as the deadline to pay the $454 million fine in New York approached
“This is America under siege,” he said during an appearance on Fox News’ Outnumbered.
‘This is an attack on America and I don’t know how to look at it any other way.
“And as an investor, and I know a lot of investors who are completely disturbed by this … but no one is going to spend money working in New York in these amounts until this is fixed.”
The former president must pay the amount after the judge found that he – along with sons Eric and Donald Jr and employees of the Trump Organization – were involved in a decade-long conspiracy to lie about the value of their assets.
O’Leary doubled down on the comments in another appearance on Fox and Friends on Friday morning.
He said: ‘I tell people that this has nothing to do with Donald Trump at all anymore. This is the American brand.
‘We are the number one economy on Earth because we provide stability through transparency. Guarantee of law and property rights.
“Here is a situation that is being focused around the world by a certain case, it doesn’t matter if it is Donald Trump, where a person has had against a violation duly high punishment, many people feel on a bipartisan basis, probably violated the eighth amendment, has not been tested yet, and therein lies the problem.’
He added that he and other investors wanted an appeals court to get involved for a “second set of eyes.”
‘The way I see this and the way it’s seen internationally, it’s like a dress-up field with kids having a Halloween party without adult supervision, we need the adults now to look at this.’
O’Leary said he and other investors wanted an appeals court to be involved for a “second set of eyes.”
Trump has repeatedly compared the court’s verdict against him in his New York fraud case to election meddling, saying prosecutors and judges are trying to stymie his campaign.
If Trump fails to pay the fine by Monday, his accounts could be frozen and the process of seizing his assets — such as Trump Tower and his art deco skyscraper at 40 Wall Street — could begin
O’Leary was also asked about his bid to buy TikTok if it is put up for sale by Chinese owner Byte Dance. The entrepreneur wants to buy it for a starting bid of $20-$30 billion — up to a 90 percent cut from its $220 billion valuation.
He explained that this was because China was unlikely to let him buy TikTok’s highly prized algorithm — only its brand and 170 million US users.
O’Leary’s comments come after Trump himself posted a series of angry posts on Truth Social suggesting that James and Engoron used the huge fine to stop him from running for president.
If Trump fails to pay the fine by Monday, his accounts could be frozen and the process of seizing his assets — such as Trump Tower and his Art Deco skyscraper at 40 Wall Street — could begin.
In the all-caps announcement Friday morning, Trump wrote: ‘THROUGH HARD WORK, TALENT AND LUCK, I CURRENTLY HAVE ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED MILLION IN CASH, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT THAT I USED TO SPEND IN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT.
‘THE OFTEN OVERTHROWN POLITICAL HACK JUDGE IN THE RIGGED AND CORRUPT AG CASE WHERE I DID NOTHING WRONG, KNEW IT, WANTED TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME AND THIS IS HERE AND THAT’S WHY HE ALSO CAME UP WITH THE NUMBER CRAZY INTEREST ASKED, IS CIRKE $454,000,000.
James formally registered the convictions in Westchester County, where Trump has the two properties just north of Manhattan, on March 6. Pictured: Trump’s 212-acre Seven Springs estate in Bedford, NY
‘I DID NOTHING WRONG EXCEPT WIN AN ELECTION IN 2016 WHICH I WAS NOT EXPECTED TO WIN, DID EVEN BETTER IN 2020 AND NOW LEADING VERY MUCH IN 2024. THIS IS COMMUNISM IN AMERICA!
He added: THE NEW YORK AG USED A STATUTE TO GO AFTER ME THAT HAS NEVER BEEN USED BEFORE, NOT ONCE, FOR SUCH A PURPOSE. IT’S SO BASIC AND UNFAIR IN ITSELF.’
It was also revealed on Friday morning that James had formally registered judgments in Westchester County, where Trump has the two properties just north of Manhattan, on March 6.
According to the county clerk’s online database, the convictions were recorded against Trump, the Trump Organization and his two adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric. The action was first reported by Bloomberg News.
It could be a signal that James intends to foreclose on Trump’s luxury Seven Springs estate or his golf estate in the county.