Trump: corruption as state policy

In most democratic countries, there has been a recent trend toward strengthening laws that monitor political corruption. This refers to the illicit enrichment of both public officials and elected representatives when they use the information or power they possess through their management or decision-making for personal gain. This enrichment can be achieved in many ways: accepting bribes, exploiting privileged information, using their influence to secure deals or contracts for their private companies, and so on. The list would be long, and undoubtedly many variations could be found in the actions of US President Donald Trump during his second term. True to his belief in his impunity and the lack of respect for the law and international law he has demonstrated in other cases, he has also acted according to his own rules regarding his personal enrichment. It is true that, according to US law, the president and vice president are exempt from the federal ethics regulations that apply to most public officials and employees. However, over the past forty years, most presidents, from both parties, had chosen to entrust the management of their businesses and properties to an independently administered blind trust precisely to avoid conflicts of interest. Trump chose not to do so and shamelessly maintains ownership and control of his businesses.

The result is that in the year he's been in office, his fortune has multiplied scandalously. He does all this openly and without any shame. According to the magazine ForbesIn September, Trump had a fortune of $7.3 billion, $3 billion more than the previous year in the same period. According to sources, his profits would be between $1.5 billion and $3 billion in that first year. But, they warn, these are conservative figures because it's not easy to trace the reach of the president's businesses. Most of the profits, and there's agreement on this, come from cryptocurrencies: he has become their main proponent because they allow him to receive "donations" without any oversight. Added to this are his real estate businesses, which he has also expanded internationally, golf courses, and media companies. All of this has meant that his conglomerate of companies has multiplied its revenue by 17 in the last year.

In other times and in a normal country, this would generate a major scandal. Right now, however, nothing is happening, and it doesn't even seem to be affecting his popularity as much as, for example, the Epstein Papers sex scandal. The problem lies with the Americans, who for the moment feel powerless to try to strengthen laws or even enforce those they already have, but indirectly, everyone else is affected. His personal enrichment goes hand in hand with the enrichment of the magnates, many of them from the tech sector but also from the energy sector, who financed his election campaign and support him. People like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, who invested heavily in getting him to the White House, also demand their share of the pie. The reward for these super-rich often comes in the form of regulations. Or, rather, deregulation. Withdrawing from climate agreements, supporting fossil fuels, or deregulating AI and social media controls—and pressuring Europe not to impose barriers—are demands that are difficult not to see as being more related to the self-serving interests of millionaires than to any ideological reason. The EU must be firm here and not let anything slide.