U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he walks to board Marine One, while departing the White House en route to Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
One of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign slogans is coming back to bite the president.
Writing on Friday, former Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor wrote that the MAGA political movement is facing a serious turning point because Americans across party lines increasingly believe government corruption is widespread.
All three branches of government are held by Republicans, and a recent Gallup poll found that 89 percent of Americans see corruption as a "common" problem in the government.
It's the highest level recorded in the 21st century and since Gallup began asking the question and tracking opinions. There has been a 16 percent increase since the GOP took over in Jan. 2025. The U.S. now ranks "dead last among all 38 advanced economies on perceived government corruption," Taylor cited.
He called it a historic failure for the United States, particularly since it has long been upheld as a model of clean government and democratic accountability.
"America is the country that once lectured the world about clean government. Hell, I traveled the world delivering such lectures. Now, we’re statistically the most 'corrupt-feeling' democracy in the developed world, according to our own citizens. If Donald Trump was worried about cementing his legacy, he doesn’t have to fear any longer. With this, he’s achieved something historic that no other president before him has achieved," wrote Taylor.
The most dangerous number comes for MAGA. Even Trump's own voters, who supported him to the tune of 94 percent in 2024. Now, 83 percent of Republicans agree that corruption is a problem in the U.S. government that they voted to support.
"By a supermajority, Donald Trump’s own voters believe the government is rotten," Taylor reinforced. "He promised he’d drain the swamp, yet they can see the gold-leaf ballroom rising on their televisions, built with their money, while the First Family’s crypto ventures mint billions and while Trump himself is minting literal coins with his face on them."
MAGA already bought that there was corruption in the U.S. government; the difference, Taylor thinks, is that now they see where it's actually coming from.
He continued, "I don’t want you to think of it as a survey result. I want you to start seeing it how I see it, as a coalition waiting to be led. Trump captured it for a while. He did. 'Drain the swamp!' However, his opponents should be able to recapture it in far, far bigger numbers. A supermajority of Americans believe the government has been stolen from them, and they’re right. The man who stole it is plastering his name and face on the buildings."
"So let’s keep bringing them the receipts," he encouraged.