In fact, I suspect to many, Trump’s situation seems less disturbing precisely because it is so much more narrowly personal, whereas garden-variety corruption feels more systemic. If every member of Congress considers herself to be a lobbyist in waiting, who can be counted on to protect the interests of the people? By contrast, some people probably look at Trump’s conflicts and say: Okay, in the worst case he personally makes a bunch of money he didn’t deserve. But in terms of the effects on public policy, we’re probably talking small potatoes. Meanwhile, what did Bill Clinton really do to earn his $80 million? And what did that payday cost America in policy terms?
To the extent that some people are thinking this way, they are mistaken. Matt Yglesias has written powerfully on the risk of systemic corruption in a Trump White House — the possibility that Trump will abuse regulatory discretion to favor companies that have greased his family’s palm, and punish those that have not. That risk has more to do with Trump’s character — his vindictiveness and his lack of principles — than it does with the disposition of his assets. But those assets make it much easier for Trump to achieve that kind of systemic corruption, if he is so inclined. Meanwhile, this risk is layered on top of the same list of opportunities for pervasive venal corruption that existed before. It’s not either/or.
But to make that point, the opposition will need a tribune who isn’t tainted with the “normative” corruption that has left the public cynical enough not to be outraged by the prospect of something considerably worse.
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