Trump's New Oligarchy Is About to Unleash Unimaginable Corruption

Greg Sargent/
November 15, 2024
DRAIN THE SWAMP
Trump’s New Oligarchy Is About to Unleash Unimaginable Corruption
The elevation of Elon Musk to a key role suggests that right-wing elites are set to embark on a spree of sordid self-dealing.


Last spring, Donald Trump presided over a meeting with the country’s top oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort. According to The Washington Post, Trump promised to fulfill a wish list of policies sought by their industry—while explicitly soliciting $1 billion in campaign contributions from them. Trump made similar promises to other ultrawealthy donors, vowing to keep their taxes low while urging them to cut large campaign checks.

Now that Trump has won the presidency again, it’s worth revisiting these episodes as a guide to what might be coming. It’s often said that Trump campaigned expressly on a platform of authoritarian rule, but this also applies to corruption: He didn’t disguise his promises to govern in the direct interests of some of the wealthiest executives and investors in the country—and he won anyway. Trump and his allies will likely interpret this as a green light to engage in an extraordinary spree of unrestrained malfeasance.

There are several reasons to fear this could amount to a level of oligarchic corruption that outdoes anything Trump did in his first term. In short, conditions are ripe for right-wing elites to try to loot the place from top to bottom.

First, Senate Democrats, who just lost majority control, are now bracing to hit a wall in their inquiries into Trump’s apparent quid pro quo dealings. The Senate Budget Committee has been investigating the aforementioned $1 billion solicitation from Big Oil executives, aiming to establish precisely what Trump promised them—he reportedly offered to systematically roll back President Biden’s green energy policies and other regulations—seemingly in direct exchange for campaign money.

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https://newrepublic.com/article/188467/trumps-musk-oligarchy-corruption