Paul Krugman gets right to the point with his headline:
The Trump Administration is a Cesspit of Corruption
Mr Krugman shows us the receipts, among them, the damning one that looms over the nation:
“America currently has a Republican president who, along with his family, has raked in billions, possibly close to $10 billion in personal gain from office in less than two years.”
Remember when the GOP complained about President Obama’s spending?
State Department spends $70,000 on Obama’s books – and stirs a controversy
How ’bout this one, about President Biden?
Oversight Republicans Raise Concerns About Biden Family Profiting Off White House
It’s funny in a “I am very pissed off about it” manner, but the GOP has said little about Donald J Trump’s spending and income during Trump’s second term, until a few months before the 2026 midterms.
It’s almost as if Republicans didn’t care until it was shown that they might lose political power because of Trump’s income and spending.
But Heather Cox Richardson puts some things together for us in her regular column in “Letters from An American”, October 2, 2026. Going back to 2015 and Trump’s initial rallies in Alabama, she compares now and then.
Read these quotes and insights Ms Richardson gives us from back then:
“Although the actual unemployment rate was 5.6%, he claimed it was “anywhere from 18 to 20 percent”—although he then upped it to 21%—and “the worst since 1978.” “A lot of people…can’t get jobs,” he said. “They can’t get jobs, because there are no jobs, because China has our jobs and Mexico has our jobs. They all have jobs.
“He sneered at the federal government, claiming “stupid” politicians had no idea how to negotiate and were wasting so much money that the national debt was close to $24 trillion, a number he called “the point of no return…. That’s when we become a country that’s unsalvageable.””
Trump called that national debt of $24T the point of no return and has shoved it since to over $40T — $16T more.
Ms Richardson addresses more details about what’s transpiring in 2026 as we close on the midterm elections. But here is the money shot:
“And therein lies the crux of the crisis that is driving a seismic political change: it has become crystal clear that Trump never intended to address the real problems he identified. His tariffs, deep tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, extraordinary corruption, multiple vanity projects, and war on Iran are benefiting him, his family, and his cronies. At the same time, the Republicans are, at his direction, slashing the social welfare programs, medical funding, education, infrastructure, and healthcare that used to serve the American people.
“Trump has taken to claiming that the country’s economy is booming, but that he and the Republicans have done a bad job of telling people. “All over the country, they’re building factories, plants—manufacturing’s coming back,” he told a crowd at a truck facility in Texas. “The only thing we’re doing badly at is public relations.””
But the truth is, the affordability crisis has become more painful for many Americans under Donald Trump, and he cares only about himself and his opinion. Donald Trump crows about how wonderful, great, and smart he is, again and again and again. Yet condition for most in this nation continue to deteriorate.
With that, the Trump Double Standard is finally crumbling.
No, it will never go away. Too many still support Donald Trump for reasons that make many of the rest of us shake our heads and sigh, and then spit in anger and spew some angry swear words.
Hopefully, enough voters have learned that come the midterms, We the People can finally handcuff the runaway government Donald J Trump has launched.
Vote Blue in November, 2026.
