'Disaster': Experts warn Trump milking the presidency 'on the backs of the American taxpayer'

23 January

In his second and final term, President Donald Trump is still carrying on his multiple money-making ventures while occupying the White House. Now, ethics experts are warning that the second Trump administration could be rife with corruption.

CNN reported Thursday that the 47th president of the United States has already drawn the attention of ethics watchdogs with the launch of a "meme coin" dubbed "$TRUMP" that saw its valuation skyrocket to approximately $32 billion shortly before his inauguration. He's also hosted an inaugural event at one of his branded properties, and a Saudi Arabian professional golf league is planning a tournament at his Doral golf course in Florida this spring.

“This time, it feels like the gloves are off, and they have no intention of comporting themselves with the decorum and ethical standards of other administrations,” said Lisa Gilbert, who is the co-president of the nonprofit Public Citizen. “They truly mean to make as much as they can on the backs of the American taxpayer.”

As Gilbert noted, Trump made a show of complying with federal ethics laws in 2017, when he hosted a press conference announcing he was handing over control of the Trump Organization to his adult children. That press conference included a table full of folders full of supposed business-related documents that turned out to be blank. But now that his second term is underway, Trump has made no attempts to convince the American public that he'll be putting distance between himself and his businesses.

“Trump is taking on new conflicts in real time,” former Obama White House ethics attorney Norm Eisen told CNN. “It’s a recipe for an ethics disaster."

Eisen pointed out that the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which is intended to prevent any federal office-holder from accepting gifts from foreign governments, will be effectively meaningless given that foreign governments could simply inform Trump that they're buying large quantities of his meme coin. Trump has also rescinded an executive order issued by President Joe Biden requiring high-level government officials commit to ethics-related pledges. And First Lady Melania Trump has since rolled out her own cryptocurrency venture, $MELANIA, just one day before the inauguration.

During the presidential transition period, Trump raked in more donations to his inauguration fund than any other previous president in U.S. history. Axios reported that Trump was seen and heard by unnamed sources browbeating CEOs into giving him millions of dollars in cash. That money can't be used for any future campaigns, given that the 22nd Amendment prevents him from running for a third term. It remains unknown how Trump plans to use that money.

Click here to read CNN's full report.

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