Trump is brazenly flaunting his corruption - and getting away with it [View all]
Trump is brazenly flaunting his corruption and getting away with it
President has shouted from rooftops what his predecessors would have tried to cover up for fear of ending their careers
David Smith
David Smith in Washington
Sat 27 Sep 2025 06.00 EDT
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This is a dangerous notion that, just because a president chooses to be corrupt in public openly, its OK, said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. People say, well, if it were really corrupt, it would be hidden. Its a false assumption, but many people have it. Its a new theory of scandal.
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Trump expressed no contrition over the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 but rather persisted with his false claim of a stolen election,
hailed the rioters as patriots and issued a blanket pardon of them on his first day back in office.
In May this year, the president said he will accept a $400m luxury plane from Qatar and use it as Air Force One, defending the arrangement as a gesture of good faith
despite concerns that it could violate the US constitutions emoluments clause. The Trump Organization, run by the presidents two oldest sons, struck a series of lucrative deals in the Middle East.
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The breaches have come so thick and fast that they have become unremarkable to a numbed, desensitised audience. Sabato commented: It becomes background noise. If theres bad news about a particular person or category of public policy then its less significant because you expect it. Whats Trump done today? Then you shrug your shoulders and have your third cup of coffee.
more...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/27/trump-flaunting-corruption