Donald Trump has filed for bankruptcy six times.
Said by Rep. Mike Levin, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 2 contradict4 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Bulwark TakesAug 21, 2026
Read literally as personal bankruptcy, the claim is contradicted: sources say Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy. Read as the post intended, that the businesses he controlled filed six Chapter 11 cases, the claim is supported by PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, the Washington Post and NBC, which count six filings from 1991 to 2009.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
What was said
… We have a lot of money from tariffs. Yeah, we'll be paying down debt. I think we're going to be paying off debt. We're taking in tremendous money from tariffs. You know, we inherit a lot of debt, 36, but growth will make that a small number. Who could have guessed that the guy who filed for bankruptcy six times, or whatever it was, may not have totally meant it when he said he was gonna pay off debt? Who could have guessed as much? J, I mean, I just take this as a another way to judge his voters. I mean, if they if they if they knew anything or meant anything that they say they believe, then they'd be outraged. They aren't. They don't care. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Snopes states that Donald Trump has never declared personal bankruptcy; the six filings were by businesses he controlled, so the literal claim that he personally filed six times is wrong.[1][4]
Supports. PolitiFact and FactCheck.org confirm six bankruptcy filings by Trump-linked companies: Taj Mahal (1991), Trump Castle (1992), Trump Plaza (1992), Plaza Hotel (1992), Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts (2004), and Trump Entertainment Resorts (2009).[2][3]
Supports. The Washington Post Fact Checker rated Clinton's identical six-bankruptcy claim correct, and NBC News confirmed the count with an attorney familiar with the cases.[5][6]
Context. Some sources from 2011 and 2015 count four bankruptcies, reflecting Trump's own 'four times' framing, which treated the 1992 filings as one; the six-filing count is the consensus in the fact-checks.[7][8][9]
Sources
9 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 4 not rated, 2 tier 2
- 1Donald Trump's Bankruptciessnopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Kamala Harris exaggerates scale of Donald Trump's inheritance ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3FactChecking the First Debatefactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 4All Of The Times That Donald Trump Went Into Bankruptcy (And ...moneydigest.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Fact Check: Has Trump declared bankruptcy four or six times?washingtonpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6Trump Bankruptcy Math Doesn't Add Up - NBC Newsnbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 7Fact-checking claims about Donald Trump's four bankruptciesapi.politifact.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8The backstory on donald trump's four bankruptciesthestreet.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 9Donald Trump's Companies Filed for Bankruptcy 4 Timesgoodmorningamerica.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Checked 2 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestMixed
- True