As an electoral candidate, Trump’s only real skill was disposing of ossified, entitled competitors: the Clintons, the Bushes, the unremarkable and uninspiring band of GOP primary challengers, and so on. Trump won in 2016 thanks to a fluke in the Electoral College and the luck of having an opponent falsely tarred by the FBI director on the eve of the election. He won in 2024 amid public backlash to inflation that he helped cause and after President Joe Biden stepped aside mid-campaign after the incumbent turned in a disastrous debate performance.
The only thing truly impressive about Donald Trump is his skill at corruption. This is not, strictly speaking, a good thing to be good at. Yet one cannot help but be awed at the talent that he possesses for abusing power and enriching himself. The last ten years have seen more innovations in corruption by Trump than the 240 years of American history that preceded them.
Last week, TruthSocial announced an extraordinary new “product”: Truth API, a version of his social-media feed that gives subscribers “a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths.” (“Truths” are the hyper-Orwellian name that TruthSocial gives to posts.) In practical terms, it would allow Wall Street firms and other financial institutions access to Trump’s market-moving posts a handful of seconds before they reach the general public.
Insider trading is not an unintended byproduct; it is the point. “Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” Kevin McGurn, the interim chief executive officer of TruthSocial owner TMTG, reportedly said in a press release. “Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths while advancing our strategy to monetize proprietary assets through a high-margin, recurring revenue stream.”
Trump has largely given up on anything resembling policymaking or governance during his second term. His legislative agenda is practically nonexistent, save for a constitutionally dubious bill to reshape American elections that is dead on arrival in the Senate. He has outsourced his foreign policy, which largely consists of being humiliated by the Iranian government over closures of the Strait of Hormuz, to Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Stephen Miller, Trump’s domestic policy guru, is largely running the mass-deportation portfolio without real supervision.
When it comes to corrupt self-enrichment, however, there are no obstacles or guard rails. He has stuffed the Justice Department with his former (and, in a way, current) personal lawyers to end its post-Watergate tradition of independence. The Supreme Court ruled two years ago that Trump enjoys “absolute immunity” for any crimes committed in connection with his “core constitutional powers.” This anti-consitutitional decision amounted to a blank check to collect bribes, kickbacks, and other forms of graft.
This is fairly unimaginative by Trumpian standards, of course. A more characteristic scheme is assigning a personal aide—Meredith O’Rourke, a fundraiser whom he reportedly calls his “princess of darkness”—to collect tens of billions of dollars in contributions from major corporations to various pet projects. The Journal reported last month that O’Rourke has taken to referring to Trump as “the boss” and telling the companies, many of whom have regulatory concerns in Washington, that “the boss wants this money.” Those companies have in turn donated hefty sums for the new White House ballroom, Trump’s planned presidential library, and more.
One of Trumpism’s basic dogmas is that Trump can commit no crimes and it is a crime to investigate him for them. Translating that dogma into legal language proved to be harder than expected. Rare bipartisan pushback from Capitol Hill led Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to seemingly back down from the fund itself, but not from the purported immunity agreement. Trump insisted that Blanche be confirmed as attorney general nonetheless, and Republican senators appear ready to fold on the matter as well. Corruption, like any disease, is spread by close contact.
That said, it’s worth noting that Trump’s genius for depravity still can’t hold a candle to the true GOAT of American political corruption. Richard Nixon and his cronies were breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters and kidnapping the attorney general’s wife in an era where Congress was powerful, most government officials saw themselves as public servants, and the Supreme Court regularly upheld our constitutional order. Imagine what a man of Nixon’s genuine brilliance could have accomplished if he played under today’s rules. It would be like watching Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points every night, but for bribery.
Hence then, the article about is trump the goat of presidential corruption was published today ( ) and is available on The New Republic ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Is Trump the GOAT of Presidential Corruption? )
Also on site :
- ‘Keep Praying for Me’: ‘Family Matters’ Mom Jo Marie Payton Marks 76th Birthday With Emotional Update
- Piramal Pharma Solutions agrandit son site de production d'API peptidiques avec l'ajout d'une unité de séchage par atomisation de pointe
- Who Wins 'The Challenge: Cutthroat'? Season 42 Spoilers, Eliminations, Disqualifications and Finalists