The Republican Party‘s populism, from the tea party to President Donald Trump’s two victories, has always gathered steam from the infuriating sight of public officials getting rich while in power or immediately upon cashing out of office. The Pelosis, the revolving-door lobbyists, the former conservatives who cash out and become shills for corporate welfare — they are the “swamp” that needs draining.
So, what are we to make of the Trump administration?
The Trump family and the president’s inner circle have leveraged their government positions to promote themselves, enrich themselves, or both. And they’re not even trying to be subtle about it.
Trump has become a cryptocurrency salesman, his FBI director has been fundraising for his nonprofit organization, and his Homeland Security director has appeared in self-promoting ads that, in turn, are funneling federal proceeds to Republican consultants.
Let’s begin with the Kash Foundation, a nonprofit organization launched by Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel. In late March, Patel sent out a fundraising email bragging about the administration’s work “exposing and holding the corrupt bureaucrats, radical activists, and Deep State operatives accountable.”
The Kash Foundation accepts donations, but it also retails in Trump- and Kash-related merchandise sold by Based Apparel, a clothing company founded by Patel and his business partner, Andrew Ollis.
Patel’s foundation, according to its IRS filings, brought in $1.3 million in 2023 and directed only $213,000 of that to grants, such as scholarships, compared to $332,000 on advertising. One major contractor of the foundation is a company reportedly controlled by Ollis.
So Patel, while directing the FBI, is fundraising for a foundation that seems to exist to promote his brand, sell his merch, and pay his business partners.
Also in March, the DHS launched a $200-million ad campaign starring its secretary, Kristi Noem. The taxpayer-funded ads are mostly content-free and exist to promote Noem and Trump politically. They begin with footage of Trump and Noem saying “thank you, President Donald J. Trump for securing our border and putting America first.”
Noem told crowds at the Conservative Political Action Conference that Trump insisted the ads begin with the thank-you.
The ad purportedly warns criminals and would-be illegal immigrants. Although DHS said there was a “competitive procurement process” in the production and dissemination of the ad, federal records indicate at least two contractors connected to GOP politics got expedited, not fully competitive contracts thanks to the emergency at the southern border.
In the first few weeks, most of the ads ran in English and on English-language TV, the Associated Press reported. If you were trying to warn off would-be illegal immigrants, you would focus on the Spanish-language outlets, mostly in Central and South America. If you were trying to build Noem’s brand and stroke Trump’s ego, you would do what DHS did.
Then there’s Trump’s crypto dealing.
Three days before he returned to the White House in January, Trump launched his own crypto, called TRUMP. Within a day, the meme coin skyrocketed to a shocking market capitalization of $25 billion before collapsing.
Trump didn’t pocket those billions of dollars. A handful of early buyers (we don’t know who because crypto purchases are anonymous) made a killing, and a ton of later buyers (presumably ordinary Trump supporters) lost plenty.
But every time someone bought or sold a TRUMP coin, Trump made money. He owns a company called CIC Digital, which, according to his crypto’s website, “receive[s] trading revenue derived from trading activities.”
CIC Digital and another Trump-affiliated company, Fight Fight Fight, held onto 80% of the TRUMP coins created, according to Reuters. That means Trump is enriched when the value of the coin goes up, such as after he posts on social media about the greatness of the coin.
Of course, TRUMP coins have no innate value, and so the buyers have speculated this worthless digital asset will go up in price (at which point they will dump it on the next sucker), or they are simply paying to express (in the most pointless way possible) their support for Trump.
The alternative is that people, maybe businessmen or foreign leaders, are buying TRUMP coins to funnel money legally to the president and thus buy his favor.
This is speculation, but it’s not far-fetched. Hunter Biden’s art business appeared corrupt because the value of a painting is entirely subjective, just as a meme coin has no underlying value.
And Trump’s former businesses have reeked of influence peddling. In Trump’s first term, foreign diplomats lobbying the Trump administration spent $750,000 at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., according to a congressional investigation.
One Asian diplomat explained that spending money at Trump’s hotel was a way to buy access to the president: “Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?’ ”
TRANSACTIONAL TRUMP ALIENATES ALLIES
Also, in the first term, Robin Bernstein, a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, got an ambassadorship from Trump. Trump National Golf Club member Adolfo Marzol was named senior adviser to the Department of Health and Human Services.
People gave Trump money, and they got access to him or were hired for a job by him. Sounds “swampy.”
