“Follow the money.”
That was FBI agent “Deep Throat,” played by Hal Holbrook, advising a young Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, played by Robert Redford, in the movie “All the President’s Men.” It premiered in theaters 49 years ago.
The advice proved to be golden. And it is golden advice now — for anyone watching the corruption taking place in President Trump’s second term.
Right now, it is hard to miss what looks like a deluge of pocket-lining as private money swirls around this president. And let’s not mention the free airplane he is ready to accept from a foreign power.
The money grab is so breathtaking that it has left Trump’s critics muttering expletives while the normally reliably loud critics of government corruption, especially congressional Republicans, appear in stunned silence.
Even as Trump’s administration seeks to regulate crypto more loosely, his jaunt into crypto — his $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins, plus his stake in World Liberty Financial — has reportedly increased his family’s wealth by billions in the last six months and now accounts for almost 40 percent of his net worth.
New York Times reporter Peter Baker posted on X last week, “Trump and his family have monetized the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.”
Presidential scandals of the past seem quaint by comparison — Hillary Clinton’s cattle futures, Eisenhower’s chief of staff resigning over a coat, Nixon stepping down over a “third-rate burglary.”
The magnitude of Trump’s self-serving actions to enrich himself exceeds anything in our history. Nixon sought distance from wrongdoing, telling Americans that he was “not a crook.” He wanted to be clear that he did not personally gain money from any abuse of power that took place in his administration.
Trump makes no effort to proclaim his innocence as he pursues wealth while in public office. And while Nixon held power during a time of relative economic calm for the middle class, Trump is acting against a backdrop of economic anxiety for most Americans.
Mortgage rates have soared past 7 percent. Last month, Moody’s downgraded our federal government’s credit rating, signaling to global investors that America is now a risky bet on the basis of its mounting debt and political instability.
Uncertainty over Trump’s push for tariffs has the stock market on a roller-coaster ride and the bond market — the basis of retirement planning for many Americans — is trembling due to record-setting federal debt. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (yes, that’s what it’s actually called), now going through the Senate, is set to push the nation much deeper into debt.
That’s not all. Trump is demanding that Walmart “eat” the tariff-fueled added cost of products it sells, rather than passing them along to customers, even as analysts point out that retailers operate on slim margins.
Last week, the U.S. Court of International Trade deemed Trump’s tariffs to be illegal, further adding to the yo-yo of uncertainty and confusion that is spooking the markets, especially the bond markets.
It wasn’t long ago that conservative Republicans would recoil at the idea of the federal government dictating what profits businesses are allowed to earn. It was heresy. It was an affront to Milton Friedman and Frederick Hayek, conservative patron saints of economics. For decades, corporations used “fiduciary duty” as an argument against government regulation and calls to increase employee pay and benefits.
Now, they’re so fearful of Trump’s social media attacks that they are biting their tongues as they are being rolled by his bullying.
In his first term, Trump promised that his tax cut plans would “pay for themselves.” But the national debt increased by $1.9 trillion. And that tax cut windfall for corporations was not used to create more jobs or raise pay for workers. In most cases, the money went to buy back corporate stocks and make executives and investors richer.
Now the question is whether voters will care. There are gubernatorial elections later this year in Virginia and New Jersey, and congressional midterms next year.
Do voters care that Trump, his family and business partners are cashing in on Bitcoin schemes and lavish quid-pro-quo dinners with wealthy patrons?
Do voters care that Trump’s largest campaign donor, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, now leaving the administration, had access to personal financial information on millions of Americans, which journalists and senators have warned could be useful to his business ventures and harmful to national security?
Do voters care that the outcome of Musk’s attempt to cut government spending has had little impact, beyond fear, confusion and reduction of services?
Do they care that Trump appointed the wealthiest Cabinet in U.S. history? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alone is worth over $3 billion — and entered government heavily invested in crypto, which he now helps oversee.
It’s time for the American people to follow the money — and connect the dots. While they grow poorer, Trump and his inner circle are growing ever richer.
