At American Greatness, a Trump-aligned web publication, Ned Ryun, a former George W. Bush speechwriter, complained that “the mainstream propagandists gaslight us by shrieking that Trump is the corrupt one.” I would not call Trump “the” corrupt one, as if he is alone in the category. I’ve written multiple times about Clintonian corruption. When Trump leaves office, there will be corruption left to write about. But in my estimation, there is no excuse left for failing to see that Trump is a corrupt one, surrounded by corrupt ones.
Even if Giuliani hasn’t broken the law, it sure looks like he leverages his relationships with deep-pocketed donors and high-ranking government officials to sway policy and benefit elite clients––and that working for free for a billionaire president helps.
Trump’s supporters enable this corruption when they credulously assume that Trump and his allies are fighting corruption and draining the swamp, rather than scrutinizing their most suspicious behavior to see if they are perpetuating the swamp.
Trump’s previous personal attorney, Michael Cohen, wound up in prison, and his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, agreed to work for Trump free of charge before winding up in prison as well. Now Trump has a new personal attorney who agrees to work for free and folks who say they want to drain the swamp aren’t suspicious? That degree of tribal loyalty and incuriosity damages any republic that relies on government by the people.
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