Appalling as all this is, the backdrop is almost worse: 77 million USians voted for him *a third time*. After the first time. After January 6, 2021. Most of them probably didn't know anything about Project 2025, but if they didn't know all about Trump they must have been lost in the woods for the last 10 years. The inescapable truth is that they knew *a lot* about Trump AND THEY LIKED IT. The racism, the sexism, the xenophobia -- everything that goes into "owning the libs," and they ate it up.
You would think that the mainstream press would be all over the sheer scale of Trump's corruption and express its outrage on a daily basis with banner headlines. But there is hardly a peep. The press, by its cowardly silence, is complicit in our moral destruction.
I’m not sure. The public seems numb to it. It doesn’t directly touch their lives so even for ones who don’t like it the corruption is more of a secondary offense. I also think it is part of why he accuses Dems of being criminals and corrupt. It muddies the water until people throw up their hands or decide ‘they all do it.’
"It's just one more reminder this corrupt family believes the rules don't apply to them" -- and why shouldn't they "believe" this? There have never been any consequences of their corruption, so the message has been "carry on". They have gotten away with it at every step. The entire family has pocketed billions off the sale of the Presidency.
I know it's hard to hang on but that's what we have to do until 2026. I continue to pray for a 2/3 majority in the Senate and majority in the House. But until then, the grift and the graft will continue to be in our faces. With a Democratic Congress he will be exposed and held accountable. And there's no way that this behavior was part of his "official" duties, subject to the Supreme Court's heartbreaking ruling that he was immune from everything. Now is the time for the Senate/Congressional Dems to dump Schumer and maybe Jeffries too, to get a shot of young leaders into the elected Dem's bloodstream, to revitalize our bench of candidates, and win this thing. It's all well and good to try to message how concerned Dems are about the middle and lower classes--that seems to be the latest strategy, but listen: the damn country is on fire, slipping into autocracy/kleptocracy at an alarming rate. We need fighters, not out of touch politicians.
World Liberty Financial was floundering until the banana art guy came along. The banana art guy, Justin Sun, has a corrupt history. His trail of ugly behavior, cons and lawsuits is long. He aggressively pursues attention and obedience. The Verge did a long article on him. It noted that some of his associates called him “little trump.” I’d say it fits.
One of his other tactics is to coerce the news media. Crypto has its niche news sources like CoinDesk. An opinion piece was removed from the site because it contained reporting such as: “… Sun threatening legal action against news outlets that are reporting on the use of his Tron blockchain by terrorists. Reuters reported that Tron is popular with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, and that Israel’s counter-terrorist agencies have frozen 186 Tron wallets since July 2021“ The article notes it still remains on Yahoo.
The SEC investigated Sun and brought multiple charges. After the banana stunt, Sun put $30M into World Liberty Finance. Taking care of the reserve (operating expenses). After the reserve was met trump got 75% of tokens sold. He put in another $45M. SEC charges were dropped. He’s now an advisor to WLF.
I'd say it's time for impeachment. Trump should not be getting richer at our expense… he's supposed to be running the country and protecting us, for crying out loud.
“But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.” - Frederic Bastiat, The Law
As tariffs force the cost of living higher and higher for most Americans, journalists need to highlight the corruption and the lavish lifestyle of Trump, his family, and the Republican elite. That was what brought reform in the past.
Part of the problem with prosecuting this obvious financial exploitation of the presidency by Trump and his family is that Trump has destroyed the investigative capacity of the federal government by removing ethical people and cutting off financial resources to do the job, while diverting them to his pet retribution projects. I would like to hear lawyers speak to whether there is any possible way to bring them to justice without the federal government being a part of it. While the Supreme Court foolishly granted Trump wide presidential immunity, his relatives do not have it.
I think it is a secondary concern for a lot of people. That is partly because other concerns have been in the forefront like inflation. Partly because he “inoculated” the public by pushing the idea that Dems are criminals and corrupt. He is the victim.
That’s why I refer to him as: A guy with a golden toilet who tells Americans not to buy more than he says they need.
(Sorry. I hit the wrong key before finishing my comment.) The name of this 19th century Paraguayan dictator, son of the previous dictator, who followed his grandiose dreams to pretty much destroy his country (even before his paranoia led him to eliminate anyone he thought might be disloyal) came to mind when I read the convoluted NYT article. I can only hope the parallels between the Lopez family and the Trump dynasty are weak and remain so.
Nothing stops them. Nothing at all. We just get to watch.
Sad but true.
Appalling as all this is, the backdrop is almost worse: 77 million USians voted for him *a third time*. After the first time. After January 6, 2021. Most of them probably didn't know anything about Project 2025, but if they didn't know all about Trump they must have been lost in the woods for the last 10 years. The inescapable truth is that they knew *a lot* about Trump AND THEY LIKED IT. The racism, the sexism, the xenophobia -- everything that goes into "owning the libs," and they ate it up.
You would think that the mainstream press would be all over the sheer scale of Trump's corruption and express its outrage on a daily basis with banner headlines. But there is hardly a peep. The press, by its cowardly silence, is complicit in our moral destruction.
Alas. They're either overwhelmed or don't care.
We are at a very low point, Steven. If any good is to come of this, may it be to lead us to a complete reinvention of our values.
I’m not sure. The public seems numb to it. It doesn’t directly touch their lives so even for ones who don’t like it the corruption is more of a secondary offense. I also think it is part of why he accuses Dems of being criminals and corrupt. It muddies the water until people throw up their hands or decide ‘they all do it.’
"It's just one more reminder this corrupt family believes the rules don't apply to them" -- and why shouldn't they "believe" this? There have never been any consequences of their corruption, so the message has been "carry on". They have gotten away with it at every step. The entire family has pocketed billions off the sale of the Presidency.
I know it's hard to hang on but that's what we have to do until 2026. I continue to pray for a 2/3 majority in the Senate and majority in the House. But until then, the grift and the graft will continue to be in our faces. With a Democratic Congress he will be exposed and held accountable. And there's no way that this behavior was part of his "official" duties, subject to the Supreme Court's heartbreaking ruling that he was immune from everything. Now is the time for the Senate/Congressional Dems to dump Schumer and maybe Jeffries too, to get a shot of young leaders into the elected Dem's bloodstream, to revitalize our bench of candidates, and win this thing. It's all well and good to try to message how concerned Dems are about the middle and lower classes--that seems to be the latest strategy, but listen: the damn country is on fire, slipping into autocracy/kleptocracy at an alarming rate. We need fighters, not out of touch politicians.
World Liberty Financial was floundering until the banana art guy came along. The banana art guy, Justin Sun, has a corrupt history. His trail of ugly behavior, cons and lawsuits is long. He aggressively pursues attention and obedience. The Verge did a long article on him. It noted that some of his associates called him “little trump.” I’d say it fits.
One of his other tactics is to coerce the news media. Crypto has its niche news sources like CoinDesk. An opinion piece was removed from the site because it contained reporting such as: “… Sun threatening legal action against news outlets that are reporting on the use of his Tron blockchain by terrorists. Reuters reported that Tron is popular with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, and that Israel’s counter-terrorist agencies have frozen 186 Tron wallets since July 2021“ The article notes it still remains on Yahoo.
The SEC investigated Sun and brought multiple charges. After the banana stunt, Sun put $30M into World Liberty Finance. Taking care of the reserve (operating expenses). After the reserve was met trump got 75% of tokens sold. He put in another $45M. SEC charges were dropped. He’s now an advisor to WLF.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/sec-fraud-prosecution-chinese-crypto-entrepreneur-justin-sun-donald-trump-world-liberty-financial-tokens/
I'd say it's time for impeachment. Trump should not be getting richer at our expense… he's supposed to be running the country and protecting us, for crying out loud.
Same as it ever was, cont'd...
“But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.” - Frederic Bastiat, The Law
As tariffs force the cost of living higher and higher for most Americans, journalists need to highlight the corruption and the lavish lifestyle of Trump, his family, and the Republican elite. That was what brought reform in the past.
Part of the problem with prosecuting this obvious financial exploitation of the presidency by Trump and his family is that Trump has destroyed the investigative capacity of the federal government by removing ethical people and cutting off financial resources to do the job, while diverting them to his pet retribution projects. I would like to hear lawyers speak to whether there is any possible way to bring them to justice without the federal government being a part of it. While the Supreme Court foolishly granted Trump wide presidential immunity, his relatives do not have it.
I think it is a secondary concern for a lot of people. That is partly because other concerns have been in the forefront like inflation. Partly because he “inoculated” the public by pushing the idea that Dems are criminals and corrupt. He is the victim.
That’s why I refer to him as: A guy with a golden toilet who tells Americans not to buy more than he says they need.
Francisco Solano López Carrillo
(Sorry. I hit the wrong key before finishing my comment.) The name of this 19th century Paraguayan dictator, son of the previous dictator, who followed his grandiose dreams to pretty much destroy his country (even before his paranoia led him to eliminate anyone he thought might be disloyal) came to mind when I read the convoluted NYT article. I can only hope the parallels between the Lopez family and the Trump dynasty are weak and remain so.