The Donald Trump Corruption Scandal Draft
6/19/20261 hr 8 min
What is Donald Trump good at? In his second administration, he promised lower prices, stronger manufacturing, and an end to foreign conflicts. Instead, inflation has risen, blue-collar job growth has slowed, and the U.S. finds itself involved in another war in the Middle East. But there is one area where Trump has undeniably succeeded: increasing the wealth of the Trump family.
Even as his approval ratings have fallen, Trump and his businesses have reportedly received billions of dollars in new investments and deals, raising questions about presidential ethics and conflicts of interest.
Today, Derek is joined by Isaac Saul of Tangle to draft the most striking examples of alleged corruption and ethical controversies in the second Trump administration and ask a simple question: Are we witnessing an unprecedented era of presidential profiteering?
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Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Isaac Saul
Producer: Devon Baroldi
Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman
LINKS: https://www.readtangle.com/the-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-corruption-story/
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDerek Thompson· Host0:00
[drum music] What is Donald Trump good at? Seriously, what, what, what is Trump good at? After winning an affordability election in 2024, the administration has not just failed to reduce prices, inflation is now rising. After promising to restore working class employment through tariffs, the administration has overseen a period of declining blue-collar job growth. After promising peace, the White House started a war with Iran. After claiming, at various moments during that war, that this war was all about replacing the theocracy or bringing freedom to the Iranian people or destroying Iran's military capabilities or dismantling its nuclear program or securing its resources, the president just signed a deal to end the war, which does none of those things. Now, this might sound like Donald Trump is a failure. I do not think he's a failure, at least not in his own eyes. He has, by some accounts, been the most successful American president in history at one very specific thing: making money. The New York Times estimated conservatively that the Trump family has made more than $1.4 billion in documented gains in their first 14 months in power. That is $100 million per month. Other estimates are billions of dollars higher. Now, this is