Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says allegations of corruption surrounding President Donald Trump and his administration are finally registering with voters, pointing to new polling suggesting the issue could become a significant problem for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.
“The cesspit of corruption that is Donald Trump’s presidency is finally getting the attention it deserves,” Krugman wrote Monday on Substack. “It’s about time.”
Krugman, the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, said controversies involving Trump, his family, and senior administration officials had previously struggled to gain prominence because wars, tariffs, inflation and other major issues competed for voters' attention.
He wrote that there are increasing indications the problem of corruption is finally reaching the general public.
Krugman cited a recent poll by The Economist and YouGov as evidence. That survey showed that 84 percent of Americans think that most or many of those who run the government are corrupt. Thirty percent said Republicans are more corrupt than Democrats, 22 percent said Democrats are more corrupt, and an additional 37 percent believed the level of corruption is the same for both parties.
Krugman noticed the figures among the independents. While 9 percent said the Democrats were more corrupt, 22 percent said the Republicans were. A majority, 52 percent, believed the two parties were about equally corrupt.
The poll also showed that 45 percent of Americans think that Trump has used his second term as president to enrich his family and friends. Eighteen percent said he has run an open and transparent administration, and 11 percent said he has set a high moral standard.
Krugman also cited an unusual origin for the criticism, writing, “Apparently even the formerly pro-Trumpian Wall Street Journal editorial page has finally reached its gag level,” he wrote.
In an October editorial, the newspaper said the Trump family businesses might face congressional investigations and subpoenas, citing Republican Senator John Curtis's request to investigate reports that a Russian businesswoman helped fund the afterparty at Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding.
Trump Jr. and his wife thanked the businessman for his "generosity" and added that this did not necessarily mean there was an agenda behind it. Trump described the arrangement as "totally allowed" and stated that his son had repaid the businessman.
Krugman saw the editorial as proof that the matter has gone beyond Trump's usual critics.
He wrote that apparently even the editorial page of the once pro-Trump Wall Street Journal has now reached its limit.
In Krugman's view, the polling indicates that voters have not yet formed a single opinion about political corruption. Yet, he maintained that the shift among independents, along with the growing public criticism of the Trump family's business activities, demonstrates that Republicans can no longer take it for granted that voters will ignore the issue.
