They Don’t Even Try to Hide It

Trump, his cabinet, and Republicans have gotten lazy

By: Austin Abbring

May 17, 2026

It is quite fascinating how desensitized we Americans have become to unabashed corruption in our politics. Of course, this corruption has infiltrated both parties to varying degrees throughout our history. That is an undeniable fact. We could all argue about who has been more corrupt, who has done what, and which corruption has caused the most widespread and long-term damage. There will be plenty of future articles covering both parties and their shortcomings in this manner. However, I want to highlight this current second Trump administration. This go-round has been incredibly lazy in even attempting to hide the brazen corruption, and it will be the worst we have ever experienced in this country's history.

Qatar’s Generosity

Starting with one of the more flagrant instances of corruption, the Qatari jet. You may remember Trump accepting a four-hundred-million-dollar private jet from Qatar around this time last year. It was to be retrofitted to Air Force One at the expense of American taxpayers, at a cost of $1 billion. 

There was an obvious national security risk. There was concern that the jet might not actually reach the presidential library. There was the fact that the aircraft was “gifted” following suspiciously timed business dealings between Qatar and the Trump Organization. To be clear, Donald Trump still retains active ownership of the company. For any right-leaning folks reading this, replace Donald Trump’s name with Joe Biden accepting a gifted, private jet from Qatar, and now you have really got a scandal to get up in arms over.

The Ballroom

Now take the White House ballroom project. Donald Trump, without any permits or congressional approval, demolished the East-Wing of the White House to begin construction on an egregious, grotesque, golden decor ballroom. Initially, this project was going to be funded by private donors for around $300 million. If this rang true, there would be a very obvious pay-to-play scenario. Those private donors would have private access to top government officials, including the President, at practically any time. This should remind you of the Gilded Age. 

Now, ever since the White House Correspondence Dinner shooting, there has been a change in tone. We’re looking at double corruption. Senator Lindsey Graham, amongst other Republicans, is now soapboxing the idea of having taxpayers expend 400 million dollars to cover the cost of the ballroom. So long to the idea of it being privately funded.

Trump phones

This was a brief story that was swept under the rug. Who here is still waiting on their Trump phone? Trump Mobile promised $500 American-made smartphones to consumers (which were certainly not refurbished phones made in China). As a reminder, this is a conglomerate under the Trump Organization, of which Donald Trump is actively profiting. As of April, zero customers have received their phones despite nearly a year of the Trump Organization accepting one-hundred-dollar deposits. 

Does anyone remember when Jimmy Carter placed his peanut farm in a blind trust while serving as president?

Tariffs

Without getting too deep into the absurdity of the tariff economic agenda this administration has engaged in, let’s examine a few points. One being the blatant market manipulation. Take the Liberation Day tariffs of April 2025, where Trump announced on Truth Social in all caps, “NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY”, before pausing the tariffs, leading to a resurgence in the stock market. 

Now also take into account companies like Target, Walmart, and others that have donated to the Trump campaign and are now receiving refunds following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Liberation Day tariffs are illegal. Consumers are excluded from any refunds. This is an obvious wealth-grift, as consumers are disproportionately impacted by tariffs and ultimately bear the costs. 

Another under-the-radar point concerns Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik. Lutnik’s firm, now run by his son, Cantor Fitzgerald, made some convenient bets on tariff refunds. While Lutnik and Cantor Fitzgerald associates suggest there is no wrongdoing, the company purchased the rights to its tariff refunds for pennies on the dollar. The company purchased the rights to these tariff refunds on the assumption that the courts would deem the tariffs unlawful. This is precisely what has happened and will lead to massive profits for Lutnik, his sons, and his business. All at the expense, again, of the American people. 

Trump’s Crypto Scam

Saving the worst for last, let’s cover Donald Trump’s cryptoscheme. This will go down as one of the most corrupt actions of this administration, and dare I say of any presidency so far this century. While there are many scandals that come close, and other glaring conflicts of interest, such as Donald Trump Jr. securing a massive Pentagon contract or Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, serving as a Special Envoy for Peace and striking several shady deals in the Middle East, this cryptocurrency scam is outrageous.

Let us start with Donald Trump’s net worth. Since taking office, he has added roughly three billion dollars to his net worth. The most profitable venture is his cryptocurrency, which accounts for at least 1.5 billion of those dollars. A few short years ago, Trump was touting crypto as a scam. Something I can agree with. However, just before his inauguration, Trump launched his cryptocurrency, “$Trump”. Its value surged massively, especially in the wake of the infamous dinner last May. This was a private dinner hosted by Trump to reward his top crypto investors. The members of this dinner accounted for nearly half of his coin purchases. This is, again, a clear national security risk and has conflicts of interest written all over it, as Trump continues to use his elected position for profit. Further exacerbating this issue, Donald Trump has heavily deregulated the crypto markets. He has dropped SEC lawsuits against crypto platforms, scaled back Justice Department investigations, and pardoned crypto leaders. 

These examples of corruption are just the tip of the iceberg in the Trump administration. In fact, all of this is from the past year completely excluding his first presidency. There used to be some effort made to hide government corruption. Right now, it is in the wide open for all eyes to see and ears to hear. Donald Trump frequently cited “draining the swamp” during his first administration. The ultimate irony is that he is the swamp. He is beyond the swamp. He and this administration are an entire wetland.