Credit: Erik Kabik Photography/ MediaPunch/IPX
A new editorial from The New York Times headlined “How Trump Has Pocketed $1,408,500,000” leads with stunning accusation.
“President [Donald] Trump has never been a man to ask what he can do for his country. In his second term, as in his first, he is instead testing the limits of what his country can do for him. He has poured his energy and creativity into the exploitation of the presidency — into finding out just how much money people, corporations and other nations are willing to put into his pockets in hopes of bending the power of the government to the service of their interests,” began the Times. “A review by the editorial board relying on analyses from news organizations shows that Mr. Trump has used the office of the presidency to make at least $1.4 billion. We know this number to be an underestimate because some of his profits remain hidden from public view. And they continue to grow.”
After tallying up his various revenue streams — which include licensing fees, lawsuit settlements, cryptocurrency ventures, and a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump — the Gray Lady deemed “the $1.4 billion figure” a “minimum” rather than “a full accounting.”
“It is impossible to know how often Mr. Trump makes official decisions, in part or entirely, because he wants to be richer. And that is precisely the problem. A culture of corruption is pernicious because it is not just a deviation from government in the public interest; it is also the destruction of the state’s democratic legitimacy,” argued its editorial board. “It undermines the necessary faith that the representatives of the people are acting in the interest of the people.”
“The demands of avarice gradually corrupt the work of government as officials facilitate the accumulation of personal wealth,” it concluded. “Worse, such a government corrupts the people who live under its rule. They learn by experience that they live in a society where the laws are written by the highest bidder. They become less likely to obey those laws, and to participate in the work of democracy — speaking, voting, paying taxes. The United States risks falling into this cynical spiral as Mr. Trump hollows out the institutions of government for personal gain.”
Various reports from Trump’s first year back in the White House explored potential avenues of corruption.
A November 60 Minutes segment suggested that Trump was motivated to pardon Binance founder Changpeng Zhao because Zhao assisted the Trump family’s entrance into the cryptocurrency industry.
Fox Business’ Stuart Varney and Lauren Simonetti marveled at the inherent “conflict of interest” in Trump administration’s support for “crypto-friendly legislation” in September.
And the Times reported that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff played a central role in helping the Trumps strike a crypto deal that was reached in quick succession with an agreement “to allow the U.A.E. [United Arab Emirates] access to hundreds of thousands of the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips.”
The post Trump Pocketed ‘At Least $1.4 Billion’ in the Past Year — Shocking NY Times Editorial Reveals first appeared on Mediaite.