Nepotism overload: MAGA kids' corruption is ripping us off

Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

President Donald Trump has long mixed his family in with his administration, from his sons scoring a big mining deal in Kazakhstan while their father is in office to his son-in-law negotiating on his behalf on matters relating to Russia's invasion of Ukraine or Israel's invasion of Gaza.

"For the last decade, MAGA made President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, a national avatar for nepotism," reported The Bulwark's Amanda Carpenter on Sunday. "They railed against the cushy jobs he secured, objected to the expensive amateur artwork he sold, and fixated on a laptop that allegedly contained evidence of illicit foreign influence peddling—a saga that culminated in a gun and tax convictions for which his father pardoned him."

Carpenter added, "But now the very thing that MAGA spent years treating as a five-alarm scandal involving one president’s son has become the business model for multiple powerful fathers and sons simultaneously—and on a much larger scale."

She continued, "The nepotistic grift perpetrated by MAGA goes far deeper than the basic arrangement that anti-nepotism laws are designed to prevent. It’s not just a case of ‘father gives undeserving son a fancy job.’ And it’s not just the Trumps, either. It’s the Lutnicks. It’s the Witkoffs. We need a word that describes their sprawling, overlapping system of patriarchal influence and enrichment."

Carpenter dubbed the term "neporuption" and defined it as being when "the sons obtain major stakes and positions in companies with huge business before the government. Happily for them, their fathers hold positions that influence policy and determine contracts and loans that move these industries."

She elaborated, "The billion-dollar interests the children have involved themselves in stretch across consequential industries, like cryptocurrency; critical minerals, including rare earths and the ‘war metal’ tungsten; and defense technology—among plenty of other sectors. These interests often intersect with our country’s national security and foreign affairs. And, sometimes, the sons’ companies invest alongside one another, literally dealing one another into the grift."

Carpenter concluded, "Forget what you thought political nepotism looked like. This is bigger, brasher, and much harder to trace. And since it involves private equity and foreign capital, it often moves outside public view."

This trend includes not just Trump and his family but also the families of Trump's close aide Steve Witkoff, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick's family and many others. When nepotism flourishes like this, it harms both democracy and the economy's free nature.

"The vast wealth inherited by centuries-old billionaire families is staggering. While these heirs and their billions go undertaxed, enormous sums are squandered on lavish mansions, private jets, and vanity projects instead of funding crucial public investments," Americans for Tax Fairness executive director David Kass said in a 2024 statement. "In 2024, these billionaire families used their enormous wealth to make record-breaking political contributions to secure a GOP trifecta."

Kass added, "Now, Trump and his allies in Congress are doing their donors' bidding by rigging the system in their favor and pushing a $4 trillion giveaway to wealthy elites and giant corporations—all while advocating for cuts to vital programs that working and middle-class Americans depend on."

From Your Site Articles