In the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, political ethics watchers, an endangered breed, worried about the increasing number of ways in which Donald Trump seemed to be for sale. “Trump keeps creating avenues for people to quietly give him money,” ran a Washington Post opinion headline, referring to the glitzy, $100,000 watches that Trump had recently presented for sale—purchasable with bitcoin.
Steve Benen, an MSNBC columnist, suggested a dark scenario: “A hypothetical wealthy donor wants to give the former president a $100,000 donation—far in excess of the legal limit—so he or she buys an expensive watch. At that point, the nominee could take his cut and write a comparable check in support of his candidacy, since there is no legal limit on what candidates can spend on their own campaigns.”
In the era of unlimited super PAC giving—when Elon Musk could throw hundreds of millions of dollars; the influence of X, the social media platform he owns; and his personal celebrity behind Team Trump with barely a regulatory hiccup—these concerns seemed practically […]
Legislators have been for sale for a long time now. The difference is that Trump has unmasked a great deal of what has been occurring behind closed doors. The Democrats can’t afford to walk out of speeches like Trump’s. Why? Because they drink from the same cash pool. It would mean a repudiation of decades of promoting neo-liberal values as “good” for the American worker. It would mean acknowledging the bankruptcy of their past alliances with the corporate rich. It would mean an about face on the betrayal they have conducted against the working class. No, the Democrats are glued to their seats with pathetic signage, in silent rage against the innovations Trump has wrought stealing the working class vote from under their noses. Think outside the box.