Mr Trump has recently denied any corrupt dealings while in office and said he donated his salary from his first term as president.<\/p>\n
His administration has repeatedly denied corruption allegations.<\/p>\n
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Jared Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump. (Pool: Ludovic Marin via Reuters)<\/p>\n
Mr Hockey, who is president of advisory and investment firm Bondi Partners, said other US actions abroad \u2014 including in Venezuela, where US forces captured then-president Nicolas Maduro<\/a> and jailed him in New York \u2014 seemed to be “too close to the everyday administration”.<\/p>\n In August, Mr Trump said the US had struck a deal with the South American nation to “control” more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil.<\/a><\/p>\n “There’s interesting behaviour more generally when it comes to promoting America’s interests in other countries,” Mr Hockey said.<\/p>\n “There’s just too much of a blurred line between the financial interests of various administrators, including the Congress and the private sector.”<\/p>\n Mr Hockey said one solution to any issues related to corruption could be the greater scrutiny that would come if the Democrats retake control of the House of Represenatives at the upcoming midterm elections.<\/p>\n That scenario appears to be becoming more likely based on Mr Trump’s flagging approval rating.<\/p>\n The latest six-day Reuters\/Ipsos poll put his approval rating at 32 per cent, as Americans struggle with high cost of living and spiking petrol prices, as a result of the Iran War.<\/p>\n Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Reuters: Aaron Schwartz)<\/p>\n “There’s no doubt there will be certain issues where it will be very uncomfortable for Donald Trump over the next two years, including a higher level of scrutiny and accountability around behaviours by members of the administration and also, members of the wider family and friend group of key people in the administration,” Mr Hockey said.<\/p>\n “There needs to be that level of scrutiny here in Washington DC.<\/p>\n “I think it’s good for America to have that proper accountability, which has been lacking over the last two years.”<\/p>\n Has Trump ‘diminished’ America?<\/p>\n While Mr Hockey attacked what he termed the “grey line” he said he believed that “overall, American politics is transparent and accountable” and that Mr Trump has frequently been subjected to “extraordinary scrutiny”.<\/p>\n President Trump has continued to amass wealth, during his second term as president. (Reuters: Nathan Howard)<\/p>\n That scrutiny has extended more recently to America’s decision to be involved with Israel in taking military action against Iran.<\/p>\n That war has caused global shipping lanes to halt and oil prices to rise as Iran restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Hockey said he believes someone had to eventually take action on Iran, that it was Mr Trump surprised him.<\/p>\n “Sooner or later, someone had to make some hard decisions about Iran,” he said.<\/p>\n “The least likely president to do so was, was the one that did it.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Donald Trump doesn’t like war and I think one thing that is holding him back on Iran is that he just does not want to see young American soldiers in body bags.”<\/p>\n Halfway through his second term it seems obvious to Mr Hockey that the US president is focused on cementing his own legacy but he said what that legacy is remains up for debate.<\/p>\n “There’s no doubt Donald Trump is the most powerful and influential figure in American politics over the last hundred years,” Mr Hockey said.<\/p>\n “Some of the initiatives that he has put in place are game changers that have strengthened America, but history will also judge that there have been some initiatives that have diminished America.<\/p>\n “One of them is tariffs and quotas, and the weaponisation of tariffs against not just enemies but \u2026 against allies.”<\/p>\n The ‘crazy’ world of government debt<\/p>\n Having acknowledged cost of living is a problem in the US, the former Abbott government treasurer also spoke about economic conditions and called for governments worldwide to curb their spending.<\/p>\n US government debt has surged past $40 trillion in recent years. (Reuters: Al Drago)<\/p>\n “There is no doubt that governments around the world are running out of money. They continue to borrow and spend there is no handbrake whether it be in Australia, the United States or Europe,” Mr Hockey said.<\/p>\n “Sooner or later it is going to end in tears.<\/p>\n “We are going to see a fall in our quality of life and our standard of living because governments everywhere haven’t been able to pull back on their populist spending.”<\/p>\n In August, US government debt surged past the $US40 trillion threshold for the first time<\/a> \u2014 more than doubling in the past 10 years, reflecting heavy spending under the Trump and Biden administrations.<\/p>\n Asked how that might impact Australia, Mr Hockey said it would present “significant challenges” for the nation when it came to debt.<\/p>\n “No governments pay off the principal,” he said.<\/p>\n “They just keep to accruing more and more debt and more and more interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n “This year, you know, the interest bill on Australian government debt is going to be $30 billion, that’s about the same the government spends on school education.\u00a0<\/p>\n “In the United States, the interest bill on their debt is nearly the same as what they spend on defence.<\/p>\n “It’s crazy and it’s unsustainable.”<\/p>\n Watch 7.30<\/a>, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview<\/a> and ABC TV<\/p>\n Contact 7.30<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/96ddd2396c73e9c1cdf0579fb5b8622a.jpeg\")
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