Is President Donald Trump corrupt?
- Alvin Rottenburger
- Apr 3
- 5 min read
While this can be seen as a lesson in corruption, it's also, obviously, current affairs and political commentary which is an unfortunate reality. It is a question that despite it's obvious requirement, is tough to ask about any leader but asking it of the person who holds arguably the most powerful position in the world, is quite troubling to say the least. President Trump is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed force. His tenure continues to be marked by numerous allegations of corruption, conflicts of interest, and abuse of power.
There is a lot, a helluva lot, of coverage and opinion pieces on President Trumps activity, his actions both in office and out. We will have a look at a number of incidents or ongoings during his time in office that have been scrutinized and perceived as corrupt.
We'll keep it short and to the point.
Consider whether the following activity fits the Rotten&Co baseline definition of corruption - the abuse of power for illicit gain? Let's explore a few key controversies!
Conflicts of Interest
This relates to the Presidents business interests. He retained ownership of his various Trump organisation business, including golf courses and hotels. This led to fears that he might use his position as President to significantly benefit his businesses. In essence, other Governments, world leaders and influential business people stayed at his hotels and played golf, in effect paying the President for these services. At the same time these parties may have been involved in political negotiations with the President or the US government, so would their 'choice' to use the Presidents businesses be considered a potential path for influencing the any decisions made by the President.?The answer is yes, this environment where financial gain is tied to political influence is the perfect example of a conflict of interest.
ROTTEN? It may have been more ethical to transfer ownership to a family member, trust or third party, even if this might have been seen as symbolic, it would at least signalled the sentiment of a considered and honest decision.
Another way in which the President is causing concern is his involvement in the cryptocurrency (crypto) industry, he has implemented pro-crypto legislation and loosening of restrictions while taking control (with his family) of a Crypto exchange and launching his own form of cryptocurrency making millions of dollars in the process. That's pretty self-explanatory and damning - he is shaping policy for personal benefit.
Gifts & Hospitality as Bribes
This relates to the first point, and would be officially known as 'Emoluments Clause Violations' (emolument means salary or profit from employment), but in a wider scope can be seen as receiving gifts or other things and services of value that would be deemed inappropriate or not in line with what is reasonable. The US constitution prohibits a president from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional approval. And so, the President faced lawsuits arguing that his businesses were profiting from foreign government spending, such as hotel stays by foreign diplomats. This is just an example, but maybe they stayed in the best suite during these stays and brought their families and spent more than one might expect.
ROTTEN? These diplomats or any third party have a plethora of hotels and rentals available to stay when visiting the US, why stay in a Trump hotel and risk scrutiny, unless there was something to be gained from it.
Abuse of Government Resources
President Trump frequently used and uses his private properties, like Trump Tower in New York and Mar-a-Lago in Florida, for official government business, leading to legit concerns that taxpayers were funding his personal expenses. When he visits these places, costs in relation to travel, security and staff are significant and covered by the government, but the trips themselves aren't necessary in relation to his role and duties. This raises the valid question of whether public funds are being used both unnecessarily and for personal benefit. He also stays in his own properties which has the same impact. A specific example is where the secret service were charged way over the usual rate for rooms in a Trump hotel.
ROTTEN? He could stay at the White House or at an official Presidential retreat, like Camp David, this is what would be usual, expected and reasonable. Also, why not let the secret service stay in the hotel at a reduced rate. Then again, that wouldn't be very capitalist, would it?
Misuse of Power
President Trump's role in the 'Capital Riot' on January 6 2021 is often viewed as incitement, which is the provoking of unlawful behaviour. He sought to retain power in an undemocratic manner (after losing the election) and encouraged supporters to disrupt the certification of the election results. This led to violence, with numerous injured parties and at least 7 people died in relation to the incident, it was described by some as domestic terrorist attack.
ROTTEN? He had no proof of any wrongdoing and was acting purely in personal interest and self-preservation, using his position of power to influence others into illegal activity.
Another instance of misuse of power was in 2019, when President Trump was accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former President Joe Biden's son in exchange for military aid. This is a clear abuse of power in the pursuit of gaining an advantage over a political rival - the end goal being to retain power.
Nepotism
This typology can only be used by those with power or influence, it is when they favour their relatives in some way, but usually this is applied when giving them jobs. The primary example is giving a role to a family member who is not qualified, experienced or suited to the role, and said person would not have gained this role if it weren't for their connection to the person with/in power.
ROTTEN? Trump gave his daughter Ivanka a notable role and exposure during a G20 summit and talks with the North Korean leader Kim-Jong Un. This was seen as inappropriate and nonsensical by many critics. There are many other examples of those appointed to Trumps government being deemed undeserving of those roles, generally this would be deemed cronyism, with nepotism used for family members.
Final Thoughts
There is an overwhelming amount of coverage, analysis, and opinion pieces on President Trump’s actions—both in office and beyond. This article has briefly touched on a few key incidents that have been widely scrutinized and perceived as corrupt.
The behaviour and activity mentioned above is clearly morally dubious, for the defacto most powerful person in the world to be acting in such as way is problematic. Is it a reflection of where populist politics is at the moment, or maybe it's an example of capitalism gone wild? Or a bit of both maybe. The President can abuse his power, but the governmental checks and balances in place mean he shouldn't be able to, or should be held accountable. In this case not only is much of his behaviour clearly self-serving, but he continues to get away with it. If he was held accountable then the rule of democratic law could be seen to be upheld, and at least the system would be shown to be a force of anti-corruption and uphold the idea of democracy.
Does his activity fit the Rotten & Co. baseline definition of corruption — the abuse of power for illicit gain?
You decide.
Yours Democratically,
Alvin
P.S.
There is a lot more to dig into here including the idea of democracy vs corruption, the finer points of the psychology of corrupt actors, capitalist structure enabling corruption and geo-political influence, but all that good stuff in good time.
Thanks for your support.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Title photo credit: Jon Tyson / Unsplash
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