Donald Trump is relevant in southern Indiana.
He’s a candidate in the presidential primary a week from now, and polls say he leads his opponents Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Those two more establishment Republicans are so desperate to derail the possibility of a Trump presidency, they have formed an alliance to try to beat him in the remaining states that have primaries, including Indiana.
Yes, Donald Trump is relevant in southern Indiana, which is why the story Saturday in the H-T about his attempts to open casinos in the state more than a decade ago were relevant to publish now.
A few readers took exception, suggesting it showed political bias to put the story of Trump’s difficulties on the front page so close to the primary. One self-described Trump supporter called it “a political ad posing as a story.”
We couldn’t disagree more, especially with Indiana still in the presidential primary mix. If Cruz or Kasich, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, had failed business dealings in southern Indiana, those would have been relevant, too.
It’s not as if the efforts to open a casino in French Lick/West Baden weren’t big news and well covered at the time. It was big news in the early 2000s.
Still, Trump’s involvement was probably never known by some and long forgotten by a majority of our readers. Telling stories people might not know or reminding them of relevant events they may have forgotten is part of the role of the media.
The story was based in facts about his company’s financial troubles in connection with a northern Indiana casino. In August 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts announced that the company was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts owed $1.8 billion in back taxes for its casino in Gary.
That was at the same time he wanted to put his name on a casino in Orange County.
Opinions gathered for the story suggested Trump’s proposal may have been the best one on the table before the bankruptcy. But the facts of his financial troubles took him out of the running.
Presidential candidates don’t often have high-profile business dealings in our part of the world. Trump did.
The story provided information to readers who might be poised to vote in the May Republican primary, or who may get a chance to vote for Trump for president in November. It wasn’t a political ad; it was an important story.