Government, like fish, rots from the head down. Mr. Trump’s example freed up cabinet associates to award huge contracts to their mates, business enterprise associates and political allies, while some others ran their departments like own fiefs. Immediately after the State Department’s inspector general was fired, Secretary of Condition Mike Pompeo’s use of formal visits for clandestine meetings with conservative donors and allegations that his spouse and children misused staff associates for tasks like walking his canine, choosing up his spouse from the airport and fetching his takeout came to gentle. And, in addition to getting accused of improperly accepting gifts from these trying to find affect, quite a few other cupboard members had been alleged to have utilized govt money for non-public vacation. These might feel like banal infractions, but taken with each other, they are a reflection of who Mr. Trump is and how he governs.
All over his lifestyle, via Trump-branded wine, chocolate bars, sneakers, NFTs, ties, MAGA paraphernalia, a $59.99 Bible (of all factors) and, most not too long ago, his Truth Social meme inventory ploy, he has shown an unstoppable push to enrich himself at all expenses. He sees politics, like small business, as a zero-sum activity in which he wins only if another person else loses. These are the instincts that drive corruption, kleptocracy and grift. And, if past is prologue, we’re on the lookout at a a lot additional damaging sequel.
In a next time period, Mr. Trump will have more freedom and electric power to undertake grift. He has presently vowed to use pardons to protect supporters and possibly even himself from attempts to curb corruption (which may explain the nonchalance with which his son-in-regulation Jared Kushner has greeted criticism about the conflicts of desire lifted by his modern true estate investments in Serbia and Albania, as properly as the Saudi, Qatari and Emirati investments in his prosperity fund). And he and his political advisers are building a deep bench of dedicated and loyal workforce who could corrode and possibly demolish mechanisms of accountability in governing administration, paving the way for kleptocratic leaders to entrench on their own in the forms exactly where quite a few would be ready to stay previous Mr. Trump’s time period. And the mere existence of a phalanx of unquestioning lieutenants in the civil services will make certain that other civil servants concern retribution for objecting to the self-enrichment.
Naturally, I worry about other issues, as well, significantly the risk of political violence. Mr. Trump could properly claim he has received the election no issue the vote depend and contact on his supporters to rise up to be certain his takeover. Even in advance of the votes are forged, his supporters are threatening election officers, judicial officials and point out legislators, making an attempt to intimidate them into either aiding Mr. Trump or stepping aside to be replaced by Trumpists.
But authorized, legislation enforcement and security hurdles are nonetheless in put to slow down or quit these endeavours. We will have to recall that this time close to, President Biden will still be president, able to regulate the armed service and federal regulation enforcement, and Congress has amended the outdated and imprecise Electoral Rely Act to make it much more challenging for Mr. Trump’s congressional allies to contest a Trump decline in the electoral college or university or on Capitol Hill.
