
Supporters of Donald J. Trump waiting for him at a campaign rally in April in Bridgeport, Conn. He has often portrayed himself as uniquely capable of wringing concessions out of China.
Donald J. Trump, who has made reversing America’s trade imbalance a pillar of his campaign, often portrays himself as uniquely capable of wringing concessions out of China through hard-nosed business tactics he has honed over the years.
In fact, he says, he has a personal track record to back up his boasts.
“I beat China all the time,” Mr. Trump declared in a speech the day he announced his candidacy. “I own a big chunk of the Bank of America building at 1290 Avenue of the Americas that I got from China in a war. Very valuable.”
Mr. Trump does have an investment in the building, an office tower near Rockefeller Center. But court documents and interviews with people involved in the deal tell a very different story of how he ended up with it.