From years of attrition of those unwilling to condone Trump’s belligerence and erratic behavior, and hand selection of devoted cronies, wealthy donors, and morally compromised family members, Trump has succeeded in establishing a government that resembles a cult. Those around him are unwaveringly loyal — which former FBI director, James Comey, refused before being let go, and Trump feeds off this support like a supernatural villain consuming plutonium. As a lucrative businessman, primetime TV performer, and now president of USA, Trump has consistently worked to promote himself at the exclusion of others.
Frighteningly, Trump’s self-aggrandizement in the political theater extends to pathological levels, not only claiming to be superior and “the chosen one” but also acting as if his command of knowledge and expertise in all domains (traditionally delegated to subordinates in a normally functioning government) surpasses those of others. Consequently, Trump has made a plethora of rash, misguided diplomatic, military, and policy decisions that even those around him believe could have been avoided had he trusted the experts. With fewer and fewer dissenters, and a sycophant Vice President, Trump’s entourage does little more than echo his illogic, condone his behavior no matter how brazen, and revere the very stable genius as an infallible savior. With the recent exception of John Kelly calling Trump the most flawed person he has even known, such blindness is eerily reminiscent of National Socialism and Hitler’s rise to power lest we forget the dangers of holding our leaders with too much esteem.
Trump’s degree of nepotism and family corruption “trumps” all other cases in US Government history, and if not for the US Senate majority led by Mitch McDonnell, it would have been stopped dead in its tracks. Previous presidents were advised that they could not appoint relatives to White House positions under the 1967 anti-nepotism law, but not Trump. He has been allowed to operate above the law. Daughter Ivanka Trump serves as adviser to the president and has personally benefited from her clothing line’s foreign business profits and a series of trademarks granted by the Chinese government. She has also openly promoted merchandise to purchase, such as a recent Tweet for beans from Trump benefactor Goya. Her husband, Jared Kushner, is assistant to the president and senior adviser, and he owns a daunting list of responsibilities despite having no prior government experience. Trump also appointed Andrew Giulani, the son of his personal attorney, as special assistant and associate director of the office of public liaison.
The unmistakable theme here is that President Trump has allowed his personal and private business interests to cohabitate with those of the country’s highest public office. Most alarmingly, he never relinquished control of the Trump Organization as promised. Trump did delegate day-to-day management of his companies to his outspoken sons Eric and Donald Jr., who — when they’re not hunting endangered species — echo their father on social media, promote conspiracy theories, and disseminate white supremacist videos. However, President Trump has maintained ownership of his company assets. This has meant that any revenues generated by his multi-billion dollar empire continue to benefit him as president, and those with enough money can curry favor from him and potentially exert influence by patronizing his companies. According to Forbes, Trump’s businesses — mostly golf courses and commercial real estate, have earned $1.9 billion of revenue and amassed $470M of incremental profit since he became president. Democrats even sued Trump for violating the emoluments clause through foreign payments received at his properties, but Trump has evaded capture.
Bottom line, this type of conflict of interest has never before existed in the White House, and it calls into serious question whether President Trump’s policies and decisions are in our best interests or his own. Sometimes it’s blatant, such as when Vice President Mike Pence planned to stay at a Trump resort in Ireland 180 miles away from his meetings. In other cases, such as his dealings with affluent international leaders, we have no way of knowing just how much our nation’s interests are being compromised.