Trump wants to be one of the wealthiest men in the world. That's why he became President for the second time, and this time, he intends that nothing should prevent him from achieving his goal.
This is the audio version:
This is the transcript:
Who is making money out of Trump? It's a question that obviously needs to be asked, because we have to presume that someone is, and most of America isn't, and nor is the rest of the world.
Trump, let's remember, promised that he was going to increase the stock market value of the USA, because that was his measure of success during the course of his first term as President, but he hasn't succeeded.
He was going to increase the number of jobs in the USA, but so far the signs are that jobs are disappearing as fast as is possible, because his tariffs are destroying them.
He promised that wages would increase, but there's no sign of that in the USA.
He promised that inflation would tumble, but it very likely is not going to do so because of those tariffs, again.
He promised things like cheap medicine, but that's definitely not going to happen.
The reality is that Trump is not delivering on his promises, and that also comes to taxes. Yes, Congress is looking at cutting American taxes right now, but only if you are very rich. For everybody else, the difference is going to be marginal and it's going to be eaten up by the consequences of the cuts that Trump wants to put in place, and which Congress is seriously considering.
In other words, the tariffs that Trump has put in place have done their damage.
So, too, has the mayhem unleashed by Musk. He has forced loads of people out of their jobs and left vast numbers of people in the USA feeling insecure.
They have delivered economic uncertainty, and that is the worst thing that you can create for economic wellbeing.
So, who is making money out of Trump if it appears that the vast majority of people aren't? Well, the answer is, of course, Trump is. That's it. That is what we now realise this Presidency is about.
Right now, as we record this video, Trump is in the Middle East. He went out there with six deals to sign.
A hotel deal.
A golf course deal.
Crypto deals.
Other deals for the Trump Organisation.
This is staggering. Never before in US history has a president so blatantly abused his power as president to advance his own self-interest.
Trump has appointed 15 billionaires to his cabinet. This is a cabinet of oligarchs, and Trump is a man with deep insecurity. He doesn't think he has enough wealth to stand up to these colleagues of his sitting around the cabinet table, and so he is determined to use his presidency to create that wealth, and that's what he's doing.
The crypto deals are perhaps the most repugnant of all the deals that he's putting in place, because they are ripping off his own base supporters, who are buying this utterly meaningless, meme coin stuff that he's putting out, which will have no value in the long term, and which everybody realizes cannot deliver such value.
But there's more to it than this blatant exploitation. There's the quiet exploitation going on in the background as well.
All those stock market moves; every single one of them, if it was leaked in advance to members of his cabinet or to their friends, would result in the opportunity for insider dealing, as it is called, where somebody who knows market sensitive information before the market does then trades knowing what is going to happen as a consequence. Trump has even joked in the White House that some of his colleagues might have profited by millions as a result.
And no one is going to do anything about this, any more than they are, for example, going to do anything about the abuse that is happening now as a consequence of Qatar giving him the use of a new Air Force One plane, not just for the course of this presidency, but for the rest of his life, meaning that this is not a gift to the USA, but is a gift to Trump. There are rules that prevent that happening, and he's ignoring them.
So, how is that possible? Well, of course, Trump has simply captured the law enforcement agencies by appointing people of his acquaintance, and his former trial lawyers, and various other people, to dominate and control those agencies so that nobody is going to bring him to account.
And you can be sure of one thing as well. When the time comes, it's going to be the case that Trump will forgive himself, and all his family, and all his colleagues, of any crimes that they might have committed whilst they were in office. And so Trump believes he can get away with whatever he likes, and in the process, he's going to accumulate vast wealth, or so he hopes.
In the meantime, the stock market will lose credibility because of the insider dealing.
Prices will fall.
The value of US pensions will collapse.
People will lose confidence in the marketplace.
They won't be willing to spend because they know they've got to save more for the future.
Opportunities will disappear.
Investment will go.
Jobs will disappear.
Everything is going wrong, but so long as Trump is happy that he's getting richer, he thinks the world is a better place, and that is all that matters.
This is what a corrupt oligarchy looks like. America is very rapidly ceasing to be anything that looks like a democracy.
The control that Trump now has over all the institutions of power, and his threats against the media and everyone else, whether that be by threat of a libel action, or a regulatory action, or whether he's going to do a tax investigation, or whatever it is that might make the lives of his opponents impossible to manage, he will do them, because he has one goal and that is to enrich Trump. And the sooner he's got rid of, and the sooner this oligarchy is tumbled, the better off America will be. And until it happens, everyone in the world is at risk from Donald Trump.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
There are links to this blog's glossary in the above post that explain technical terms used in it. Follow them for more explanations.
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Buy me a coffee!
The U.S. Constitution — while not perfect in preventing self-dealing — provides tools that are being dangerously underused.
At the heart of the legal issues is the Emoluments Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8), which bars any person holding a U.S. office from receiving gifts, payments, or titles from foreign states, or Kings without Congressional approval. Trump’s alleged hotel and business dealings overseas — particularly with countries like Qatar or Saudi Arabia — seem to risk direct violations of this clause. His continued ownership of the Trump Organisation during his presidency has never been genuinely walled off, and while courts have often sidestepped the emoluments question on procedural grounds, the core issue has never gone away: has the presidency been used for personal financial gain in ways the Framers feared?
Also, Article II, Section 1, Clause 7, provides that the president shall receive compensation and “shall not receive…any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.” If Qatar has indeed gifted him an aircraft, that could be a direct breach — unless it was somehow framed as a gift to the nation. Again, Congress has the power to investigate this, but has not done so with enough urgency.
The likely candidates who are profiting include:
Trump himself, through continued profits from hotels, golf courses, and now crypto ventures.
His family, especially Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, both of who have held White House roles while engaging in global business deals — notably Kushner’s $2 billion deal with a Saudi investment fund in Trumps first presidency.
Foreign states who curry favour with Trump in exchange for deregulation or foreign policy concessions.
Billionaire allies in his cabinet or donor network who benefit from deregulation, tax cuts, or privatisation policies he champions.
Meanwhile, ordinary Americans do not benefit. Wages stagnate, jobs move abroad or vanish under tariff policies, and inflation rises. The stock market’s credibility is undermined by the perception of insider manipulation — a problem that affects pensions, savings, and trust in markets.
Trump’s presidency may well be one of the most brazen examples in modern U.S. history of a public office being used for private enrichment. It’s not just a political crisis — it’s a constitutional one. Accountability, if it’s going to happen, must come from a reawakened Congress, an independent judiciary, a fearless press, and a public that demands more than spectacle. Otherwise, the U.S. risks permanently normalising corruption at the highest level of government.
Agreed
But he has taken control of law enforcement
Trump’s Qatari Boeing 747 gift appears to be a pig in a poke.
According to the Washington Post, the plane will have to be retrofitted with security, communications and inflight re-fuelling capabilities and a raft of other safety and security precautions. There’s also the possibility of planted bugs.
The plane would have to be deconstructed, every nut and bolt inspected, and rebuilt at a cost of billions of dollars and years of work. It looks as though it wouldn’t be ready by the time Trump leaves office. The only way it could be used soon is if Trump used it without the work being carried out which would be a massive security and safety risk.
Thoughts and prayers Trump!
“Qatar giving him the use of a new Air Force One plane, not just for the course of this presidency, but for the rest of his life, meaning that this is not a gift to the USA, but is a gift to Trump.”
Glad someone pointed this out that Qatar has given NOTHING to the USA.
@AC Bruce
“Trump’s Qatari Boeing 747 gift appears to be a pig in a poke.
According to the Washington Post, the plane will have to be retrofitted with security, communications and inflight re-fuelling capabilities and a raft of other safety and security precautions. There’s also the possibility of planted bugs.”
This is a pig in a poke for the USA but not for Trump. If Trump tries and succeeds at using an “Executive Order” to have this plane retro-fitted, he will have a completely newly retrofitted plane ready just in time for when he leaves office.
My husband is an aviator (which is a small community in the USA especially small in Florida) and gossip on the tarmac & air strip is that Trumps personal plane(s) is/was on its last leg. Many FBOs (Fixed Based Operators) in Florida will not work on his plane(s) because he does not pay his bills and does not like to pay hangar fees for storage of his plane(s) when it takes him 60 days to pay his invoices..
I hare people who pay late.
I sacked clients who did it persistently.
Trump either does not pay at all (many instances) or pays very late. Few companies want to do business with him.
When dealing with an airplane, just like an automobile, you do not get the leys until your bill is paid in-full.
Most FBOs start charging “storage’ fees on planes 48 business hours after the owner has been notified that repairs are complete and plane is cleared for departure.
He apparently said that once he leaves office he will donate the plane to his Presidential Library.
Since he’s an appalling liar, amongst many other things – none of them good, I take that with a pinch of salt.
That’s another area in which the rich screw the poor/small business owners.
Demanding 60/90 days invoice payment terms when they buy, demanding 15 days when they sell.
“He apparently said that once he leaves office he will donate the plane to his to his Presidential Library.”
What perfect scam for a grifter!!!!!
Donating the plane to his his Presidential Library is donating the plane to himself except that his Presidential Library will have to pick up the tab for ALL maintenance and operational cost.
Presidential Libraries are non-profit and tax exempt so Trump’s Presidential Library can raise all the money they want to raise to cover all maintenance and operational cost of the Qataris gifted plane. Is this a professional grifter’s scam or what???
All I can say about this is that Trump has merely formalised what has been happening for some time. In some ways you can see the brazenness as a form of honesty we’ve never seen before. Trump has got to where he has got because of the inherent corruption in the U.S political system which has now been tested to destruction.
A society designed to end the inequities of old Europe has become old Europe anyway. Those indigenous peoples who suffered did so for nothing.
Trump is transparent to be honest in a society which is focussed on making money, that worships making money more than it worships God.
I actually prefer Trump to what is happening in my own country where the pretense of democracy exists only at the hands of the top 5% or less.
The UK is known as a ‘Hypocrisy-Democracy’. Or an elective oligarchy.
It will be much harder to change the UK than it will be to change America I think.
Like PSR, I am more worried about what is happening here.
https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/starmers-big-tech-lobbying-problem-palantir-kyle
I’m sorry to say it, I have friends in the US, family and did a year on a J1 visa there when I was a student.
I am thus very sorry to say this but, America, you are now a failed state turning into a rogue state. You’re on my shitlist now, unfortunately.
John,
People, even old school Republicans, are fighting back. However, it is just fighting back against Starmer. Old school Republicans cannot say much about the illegal immigrant problem because the “swing vote” base they need to maintain office think they agree with Trump but really do not understand the complete complexity of the matter of illegal immigrants.
With regards to the Run-of-the Mill Democrats, Progressive Liberals, Greens and Socialist Democrats, there is nothing they can do unless they take control of at least one House of Congress. Until this control is regain, the Democrats are bringing a knife to a gun fight then are fighting with both hands tied behind their backs.
People are appalled at Trumps behavior; including many “swing voters” who put him into office.
The prices of milk, eggs & cheese have not decreased one iota. To make matters worse the prices of a garden hose and irrigation equipment for lawns have doubled in price. If you want to really piss of Floridian, just starting f*^king around with their lawns and gardens.
🙂
“it is just fighting back against Starmer”
Should be: it is just “like” fighting back against Starmer
Trump is the product of wider corruption.
A very small group of ultra‑wealthy individuals account for a large share of Republican campaign funding. OpenSecrets data shows mega‑donors overwhelmingly back GOP candidates, giving them outsized access and influence .
Corporate America spends hundreds of millions annually to shape tax policy. In early 2025 alone, House Republicans proposed $4.5 trillion in tax cuts—supported by heavy corporate lobbying to expand loopholes and deductions.
Giving preferential tax treatment to cronies or allowing undue access to policymakers constitutes a form of systemic corruption.
Against this background, the emergence of Trump looks almost inevitable.
A group of influential and powerful Old School Republicans are AGAINST these tax cuts of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” for many different reasons. In the House, the “Repubes” can only lose three votes. If they lose four votes, the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, the bill will NOT pass.
Listening to NPR (National Public Radio) yesterday, Several Republican Senators interviewed, one from the deep MAGA state of Missouri, said the “One Big Beautiful Bill” had no hopes of passing the Senate. All this smoke & mirrors” about the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is NOTHING but Trump creating chaos. Every minute the media spends covering the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is one less minute spent covering the kleptocracy and outright pilfering by Trump. If the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passes Trump supporters are going to be very upset about what it does to their elderly mother-in-law.
Trump really does not care one way or the other if the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passes or dies as the “congress critters” who vote for it will have to answer not Trump and, once again, Trump is not going to be up for reelection.
Everything Trump does has only one purpose which is to create chaos to cause a diversion to keep “his” voters from from seeing what he is really doing. The fact that many of “his” voters do not really want to look is another dissertation entirely.
Much to agree with.
Difficult to contemplate. Corruption out in the open …..’well of course I use my public position to get rich , and doing it in plain sight is really enjoyable – like having a state visit to the gulf dictatorships, with trade deals between them and and US – all wrapped up with my own personal deals’. Perfect..
But why aren’t media calling it out – are they all subject to his executive reach?
Our corruption is much more subtle and works over a period of years covering the run up to office and the favours called in afterwards. Look a millionaires Blair, Mandelsohn etc.
Is this the end times for democracy
“But why aren’t media calling it out”
The Media is calling all this out but the only entities that can rein Trump in are the Courts and the two Houses of Congress.
Trump DOES NOT care what anyone thinks because he CANNOT run for reelection no matter what he teases and says.
When Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Maria Sotomayor and Elena Kagan are all seeing the same view of Trump’ henchmen, we can hope it is the beginning of the end. However, I do not see the true end until Trump is out of office.
US mainstream media will on the whole not report about the grift. Do not expect Fox News to do so in any great detail.
King Donald is using the Justice department to investigate and pursue the enemy ( that’s anyone he dislikes or is critical of him).
The latest knock on effect is large US law firms are stopping taking on work that may be critical of King Donald because they are scared of him taking action against them.
Critical opposition is being snuffed out.
@John Fairhall
“US mainstream media will on the whole not report about the grift.”
I take exception to the wording of your comment but not to you directly as I read all your posts on this blog completely with much enjoyment.
Fox News and Newsmax TV are NOT the mainstream media. Do you consider “The Daily Fail” mainstream UK media? I do not.
The true US mainstream media IS reporting on the grift!!!
🙂
And correct
Even the NYT and Washington Post are
This is from beneath the YouTube video by the Meidas Network that I’ve linked to below:
“Trump had such a disastrous day at the Supreme Court, that even he knows so he turns to raging and intimidating the Justices on social media. Dina Doll reports on why Trump was so upset with the Supreme Court oral arguments into his pet peeve—universal injunctions and how they relate to his Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpip6w-IiTY
I’ve very little idea of what the US legal system is like, but I think this video is relevant to this thread.
It is staggering that even SCOTUS is turning against him.
I think to focus on Trump as a singular, aberrant figure risks obscuring the deeper structural issues that made his ascent possible. Addressing those issues requires more than opposition to Trump as an individual; it requires a fundamental reexamination of how wealth and power shape American democracy.
Biden was addressing the the issues you speak/write about.
However, change (that was expected) was not coming fast enough and this change was NOT delivering direct tangible financial benefits to enough households in the short term.
In addition to taxation and lobbying, here, with help from ChatGPT, are some other key areas demonstrating that conditions have long been ripe for a Trump-like figure to emerge:
1. Gerrymandering:
The deliberate manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favour specific political parties undermines democratic representation. It allows politicians to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives, distorting policy outcomes and entrenching incumbents.
2. Dark Money and Super PACs:
The rise of “dark money” — political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors — has further eroded transparency. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited funds, allowing wealthy donors to exert significant influence without accountability.
3. Revolving Door Between Politics and Industry:
Politicians and regulators frequently transition to lucrative lobbying or consulting roles in industries they once oversaw, creating conflicts of interest. This revolving door fosters regulatory capture and perpetuates policies favourable to powerful industries.
4. Privatisation and Public Contracts:
The awarding of public contracts to private companies with political connections can become a vehicle for corruption. Contracting processes can be manipulated to reward cronies, especially in sectors like defence, infrastructure, and health care.
5. Judicial Influence:
The judicial appointment process has become increasingly politicised, with powerful interest groups lobbying for judges who will protect corporate interests. Decisions that weaken campaign finance laws or uphold partisan gerrymandering further entrench systemic corruption.
6. Voter Suppression:
Enacting laws that disproportionately affect minority, low-income, or younger voters is a form of political manipulation that can serve entrenched interests. These laws can effectively disenfranchise groups that may challenge the status quo.
7. Media Ownership and Influence:
Concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few powerful corporations limits the range of perspectives presented to the public. Media outlets may downplay stories that could harm their owners’ financial or political interests.
8. Think Tanks and Policy Institutes:
Some think tanks operate as de facto lobbying arms for specific industries, producing research that appears objective but is funded by corporate donors. This distorts public policy debates and provides intellectual cover for self-serving policies.
9. Campaign Finance Loopholes:
Even with campaign finance regulations, numerous loopholes allow donors to channel funds through obscure entities, bypassing contribution limits and masking the true sources of influence.
10. Foreign Influence and Foreign Lobbying:
Wealthy foreign governments and entities increasingly engage in lobbying to influence US policy, particularly in areas like defence, trade, and foreign aid. This can subvert domestic interests and compromise national security.
It’s scary how much of this list is applicable here too.
True. It’s been happening here too. And our recent and current Governments are the outcome. So just as much fundamental change is needed here at home. Voting is no longer enough, and hasn’t been for quite some time now. The “single transferable party” is bad enough in itself, but there’s also a wide range of highly questionable factors that’s brought our politics to this dark place.
Possible motto ‘Fléctere si néqueo súperos Acheronta movebo’
‘
‘If I cannot move heaven, I will raise hell’
Dear Richard, and fellow subscribers here, I’m sorry to trouble you again today, but I just came across a video that I thought was really funny about Trump’s latest deals etc etc (including UK’s unsigned deal).
The aliens abduct comedian Kylie Brakeman onto the spaceship to help them probe this week of news.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s-KsnzSUdk
If anyone wants to skip the serious part, the Aliens section starts at around 5.11 minutes.