Ex-DOJ Official Flags Scathing New Nickname For Cash-Strapped Donald Trump

Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal  on Sunday drew attention to a pointed new Donald Trump  moniker making the rounds on social media: Don Poorleone.

The former president had until Monday to secure a bond for the multimillion-dollar civil fraud judgment against him while he appealed the ruling. By the deadline, if Trump does not post bond, New York Attorney General Letitia James could move to enforce the $454 million judgement by seizing his assets.

Theres a reason why I think some people are calling Donald Trump Don Poorleone right now, and its because hes kind of talking out of both sides of his mouth, Katyal told MSNBC s Jen Psaki.

The nickname, a play on the name of fictional mafia boss Don Corleone from The Godfather, was trending on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend, along with mockery and memes  aplenty.

Trump claimed  on his Truth Social platform Friday that he has nearly $500 million in cash undermining his request to an appeals court to reduce, waive or delay the bond requirement because he cant come up with the money in time.

These things dont make much sense together, Katyal said of the contradicting claims, pointing out that this behavior was what got Trump in trouble in the first place.

He added, This is lying about his assets, and now hes kind of doing the same thing.

He predicted that come Monday there would not be some immediate process where Tish James is going to walk into 40 Wall Street on Tuesday and change the locks or something like that. The seizure process takes a while.

She may, however, take steps towards doing so, by filing liens on some of Trumps properties, Katyal said. She has already made moves  to do that for Trumps properties in Westchester County, New York.

She may also file bank levies to take money in Trumps accounts, Katyal said.

That process can occur more quickly, he said. Now, what Trump is going to do in the interim, hes going to try and go to the New York appeals court to stop this. I dont expect that to succeed, but hell try. He also may try and file a federal lawsuit thatll go nowhere fast.

Watch his analysis below via MSNBC.