Trump Flaunts His Corruption
The former president�s shakedown of oil executives may not have been
illegal, but it is undeniably scandalous.
By David A. Graham
One of the few ways in which Donald Trump has improved American politics is
in making explicit what was once veiled in implication or euphemism. During
the 2016 election, for example, he said what everyone knew but no
politicians would acknowledge: That wealthy donors bought access and fealty
with their contributions.
These blunt statements have endeared him to supporters who see Trump as a
rare figure willing to speak about how special interests and corporations
conspire with politicians to screw over ordinary Americans. And because he
is a billionaire, they see him as immune to these pressures, wealthy enough
to not be beholden in the same way as typical politicians.
That brings us to a Washington Post article this morning. At a Mar-a-Lago
meeting in April, oil executives complained that despite pouring hundreds
of millions into lobbying the government, the Biden administration had
pursued stronger environmental regulations. �Trump�s response stunned
several of the executives in the room overlooking the ocean: You all are
wealthy enough, he said, that you should raise $1 billion to return me to
the White House,� the Post reports. In exchange, Trump vowed to roll back
current regulations and freeze future ones. He told them that, given the
savings, a billion bucks would be a �deal� for them.
David A. Graham: The utter absurdity of Donald Trump and RFK Jr. running as
�outsiders�
What Trump was offering is entirely legal and absolutely corrupt. (Or to
borrow a phrase: very legal and very uncool.) Thanks to Trump�s bluntness,
there can be no hair-splitting about what�s going on here, and that�s good
for public understanding. Trump asked special interests for an eye-popping
fee in exchange explicit favors. Trump and the oil companies might argue
(dubiously) that their preferred regime would actually be better for
consumers, but they are cutting �the people� out of the discussion
entirely, subverting democracy. The deal is getting done between Trump and
the suits, behind closed doors. It�s a good reminder that Trump�s claim to
being an outsider is a sham.
American politics would be healthier if all politicians were so transparent
about such deals (though, of course, it would be better were they not
making such deals at all). Everyone might �know� that politicians are
cutting deals for powerful interests, but they seldom know what exactly
those deals are, so it�s hard for them to take it into account when voting.
(This is one reason the federal indictment of Senator Bob Menendez, the New
Jersey Democrat, is so riveting: The alleged trades are all laid out so
plainly.)
Trump, however, has said he�s different. Many people took his frankness
about how the system works to mean that he wouldn�t act the same way as the
politicians he excoriated. What this report shows is that he�s no
different. Trump was describing transactionalism, not critiquing it, and
the idea that Donald Trump would ever object to transactionalism is absurd.
He�s a grandee in good standing of the Leopards Eating Faces Party.
David A. Graham: Bob Menendez never should have been a senator this long in
the first place
In fact, he�s arguably worse. An ordinary politician might have approached
this situation with a touch more finesse. First, he�d listen to the
executives� concerns. Then, he�d lay out his agenda on energy. Finally, a
campaign aide would hit the executives up for donations. That offers a
little bit of deniability, which in turns gives a politician in office some
wiggle room. It�s not like donors can call him up and say, You made an
explicit promise to do this for me! That would be unseemly. If the oil
suits produce $1 billion and Trump wins, however, they can do exactly that,
since he�s offered an explicit quid pro quo. Not only is he just as
beholden to special interests as anyone else, here he�s going out of his
way to make himself beholden.
One final tawdry thing about Trump�s offer is the implicit threat it
contains. If they don�t pass the hat to produce the cash, Trump might not
pursue the same policies�and, as he notes, that could cost them dearly.
Tim Naftali: The worst president in history
Trump runs a real risk to his reputation, as well as his election, by being
quite so direct about what he�s offering. One of the biggest scandals in
American political history was Teapot Dome, which involved federal
officials trading favors to the oil business in exchange for cash. It�s one
reason that Warren Harding, the president at the time, has often been
ranked among the very worst by historians. (Trump has surpassed him in some
recent surveys thanks to his attempt to steal the 2020 election.)
Voters just don�t like corruption very much, and Trump�s offer here is not
only plainly corrupt but cuts to the center of the political persona he has
cultivated. Trump is a bold truth-teller sometimes about the system, but
seldom about himself.

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