Trump has mastered the art of monetizing the presidency. In this video, I wade through the swamp that is the Trump administration, and discuss several aspects of its corruption.
Trump is in a position to divert taxpayer money to his family’s pockets, and to grant political favors in return for financial gain. He has taken advantage of every money-making opportunity that comes along with the presidency. He has spent nearly a third of his time in office at one of his properties, bringing an entourage of secret service agents and tax payer money with him.
Trump’s properties have also benefited hugely from the patronage of the Saudi government, which Trump has strong ties to. By his own admission, Trump has received tens or hundreds of millions of dollars from the Saudi government over the years, before and during his presidency, and he has returned this friendship with large political favors. In fact, Trump is currently facing 3 lawsuits which claim he has violated the constitution by accepting gifts from foreign governments.
Perhaps the most blatant example of Trump’s corruption is the degree to which he has indulged in nepotism. Nepotism is the practice of favoring friends and relatives, and placing them in political positions. Trump’s children and their spouses have, despite having no political experience, been appointed to numerous important positions at the White House. Their multitude of political roles means they negotiate on behalf of the United States with the very same countries they have business ties to. This obviously creates a massive conflict of interest.
The topics I discussed here do not cover the full scope of corruption in the Trump administration. There are a lot of claims that are yet unproven, a lot of evidence and information which is murky and difficult to tie together. There is a reason they call it a swamp! I decided to focus on topics that are more clear and have lots of credible supporting evidence, but I may do a part 2 in the future. If there is anything you think I missed, please let me know in the comments!
#trump #politics #swamp
Sources:
Pence’s $600,000 detour receipts:
https://www.fpds.gov/ezsearch/fpdsportal?indexName=awardfull&templateName=1.5.1&s=FPDS.GOV&q=+VENDOR_ADDRESS_COUNTRY_CODE%3A%22IRL%22+DESCRIPTION_OF_REQUIREMENT%3A%22VPOTUS%22&x=0&y=0
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/05/us/politics/tracking-trumps-visits-to-his-branded-properties.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html
https://medium.com/@TrumpTimer/day-87-updated-accounting-on-how-much-donald-trump-has-profited-solely-from-secret-service-staying-f8c21ac3fba4
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trumpinc/episodes/trump-inc-government-bar-tab-mar-a-lago
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-1484337
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/top-11-favors-trump-administration-has-done-saudi-arabia-n1026926
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/trump-organization-profit-taxpayers-lying-secret-service-mar-a-lago-bedminster.html
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/08/is-jared-kushner-the-worlds-worst-real-estate-investor
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/qatar-666-5th-ave-jared-kushner
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/saudi-funded-lobbyist-paid-for-500-rooms-at-trumps-hotel-after-2016-election/2018/12/05/29603a64-f417-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html
https://www.axios.com/saudi-lobbyists-trump-international-hotel-2016-election-3c1ade29-4406-47b4-b20b-81fe05b6af68.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/saudi-guests-boosted-revenue-at-trumps-new-york-hotel-reversing-drop.html
https://presidentialgolftracker.com/trump-vs-obama-golf-games/
https://time.com/5766186/jared-kushner-interview/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/01/26/trump-is-getting-payments-from-foreign-governments-we-have-no-idea-what-they-are/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/08/troubling-overlap-between-jared-kushner-business-interests-and-us-foreign-policy
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6817872-United-States-Secret-Service-Expenses-Incurred.html
https://trumpgolfcount.com/
https://www.citizensforethics.org/2000-trump-conflicts-of-interest-counting/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/trump-secret-service-spending/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5
Timeline on Jared Kushner, Qatar, 666 Fifth Avenue, and White House Policy
Music from:
Epidemic Sound
Sound Stripe
Stock footage:
StoryBlocks
source