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In his first term, Donald Trump raided the United States in ways no president ever had:
He stayed in his own hotels, so the Secret Service would have to pay him to protect him.
Leaders from foreign nations, who came to Washington, D.C., knew that they had to book rooms and events at his hotel to gain favor or an audience. In fact, when Trump unexpectedly won the presidency in 2016, many scrambled to rebook at his Washington hotel.
In addition, members of the Republican party and elected officials made the same arrangements as a sign of loyalty: They paid financial tribute to Trump, hoping for favors or appointments, or even pardons. When Trump sold the hotel, the GOP bookings dried up.
And in the second term, the corruption has been even more insidious: Trump has increased his and his family’s wealth by an estimated $3 billion with crypto schemes, social media stock offerings, foreign real estate dealings and more.
Even top MAGA influencers — many who also are crypto proponents — have applauded Trump’s bold leverage of the presidency for his own wealth and to further pad the bank accounts of billionaire cabinet members (with alleged market manipulation) and advisor Elon Musk (with government contracts).
Others have said they feel betrayed.
But the bottom line is: They all know Trump is grifting big-time.
So, that’s why one Democrat activist said Americans would have to be “an idiot” to believe press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s latest ridiculous lie:
“I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,“ she said on Friday. ”He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service ... this is a president who has actually lost money for being president.”
As former GOP advisor David Frum said, " ... it looks like in his second term, [Trump] thought, You know, if I ever get another chance, this time I’m going to think big. And it looks as if through his various mysterious crypto ventures, hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, are moving from all kinds of people all over the planet to himself and to his family. And again, this is shadowy. It can’t be very precise, but it looks like vastly more money than in the first term has already moved into his hands in the second."
Frum’s podcast partner Anne Applebaum, an authoritarian expert, chimed in as she explained how Trump is operating “The Most Corrupt Presidency in American History,” pointing out four areas where Trump is using government to enrich himself, his family and cronies:
— Violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which says a president can’t benefit from relationships with foreigners. Trump is making real estate deals and hosting Saudi golf tournaments, to name only two examples.
— By putting Musk in charge of the federal government, Trump is creating conflict of interest that will line his pockets or those of his supporters, like Musk, who are steering contracts and cash to himself. Musk gave more than $250 million to Trump’s campaign.
— By installing loyalists at the Department of Justice, Trump is removing any chance that alleged corruption will be investigated.
— He is engaging in direct corruption with the creation of his crypto company, World Liberty Financial, which allows people to secretly give him money.
According to Wired, business leaders are paying as much as $5 million to meet one-on-one with the president at his Florida compound, sources tell WIRED, while others are paying $1 million to $1.5 million apiece to dine with him in a group setting.
Evidence shows that the notion that Trump — whose wealth plummeted while he was out of office from 2020-2024 — sacrificed financially to be president is absurd.
Zack Guzmán, a crypto journalist and founder of Coinage, said that while some crypto founders and investors remain optimistic about the Trump presidency, there’s already some buyer’s remorse.
“When he talked on the campaign trail about making the U.S. the crypto capital of the world, was it just about Trump trying to make money for himself and his family?” Guzmán said. “It’s definitely fair to say the latter has been his priority so far.”
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