Washington (CNN) Donald Trump's tax controversy and his self-destructive lack of discipline threaten to drain the Republican nominee of something he can't afford: time. With 36 days remaining before Election Day, the real estate mogul's campaign is consumed with the fallout from a New York Times story published over the weekend that found Trump reported a $916 million loss in 1995. That loss could mean Trump went 18 years without paying federal income taxes. Those findings -- which Trump's campaign isn't disputing but haven't been independently confirmed by CNN -- would be daunting for any presidential candidate to overcome. But they're especially challenging for Trump, who is losing control of the campaign's narrative after a strong September in which he narrowed the race with Hillary Clinton.