Ethics experts and Democrats express alarm as Trump uses office to grow his personal fortune to ‘unprecedented’ level

Donald Trump’s use of his second presidency to grow his personal fortune has alarmed legal and ethics experts and congressional Democrats as he has reaped an “unprecedented” $2.2bn in 2025 revenues by amassing big cryptocurrency holdings, benefiting from wealthy foreign interests, expanding his Truth Social business and more, while federal oversight of his actions has waned.

Trump last year raked in at least $1.4bn from his crypto ventures according to financial disclosure forms he filed in June. Simultaneously, about one million investors in a Trump crypto scheme suffered almost $3.8bn in losses as their volatile crypto holdings tanked in value.

Monetizing his presidency further this summer, Trump’s Truth Social media business is pushing a new scheme that offers wealthy buyers special early access to his posts for a fee of $100,000 a month, which top Democrats and public interest groups say pose serious conflict of interest and corruption issues.

This is some of why at least some Americans probably wish the Iran plot succeeded

Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men.

  • SwissArmyKazoo@lemmy.world
    1·
    11 hours ago

    Trump is practically wasting all of our net gain and allowance just to procrastinate our civic regulations, have our privacy dismantled in high oligarchy enforcements and postpone all climate vulnerability and forestation sedimental deployment just to pressure out incriminatingly virulent fuel sources to our atmosphere.

    He’s not governing, He’s dictating!!!

    Actually outranked Hitler, Pinochet, and King Tarquin as the most inhumanely corrupt cretin ever put in leadership.

    And yet his party of gutless and insecure terrorist grifters are not doing anything to contempt his crime streak.

    GOP is officially pro corruption pro sectarianism and pro austerity

  • Zephyr@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    20 hours ago

    Was anyone surprised. Dude had a track record of swindling for decades prior to his presidency.

  • Cheebus@lemmy.world
    13·
    2 days ago

    As far as I can tell republicans chose this life for all of us because they were upset that:

    They had to wear a mask during covid. Gay people are allowed to be happy. Obama wore a tan suit that one time. Buttery emails.

    So now we all get to live shit hole life’s because the crabs at the bottom of the bucket decided to yank everyone down with them and install a king.

    If you vote republican, fuck you, genuinely.

            • BCsven@lemmy.ca
              1·
              23 hours ago

              Maybe this is why. Lol.

              Grok

              Court records show more Republican politicians have been convicted of sexual offenses than Democrats. Since 2015, notable cases include Rep. Dennis Hastert ® pleading guilty to child molestation-related charges and Rep. Mel Reynolds ® convicted of sexual assault. On the Democrat side, fewer convictions exist—Rep. Bob Filner pleaded guilty to groping in 2013. Data leans heavier on Republicans historically. Check GovTrack for raw numbers.

              • Zephyr@sh.itjust.works
                1·
                22 hours ago

                I was thinking more about his pardons of Henry Cuellar, Rod Blagojevich, P.G. Sittenfeld, and Devon Archer who were all facing some sort of bribery or corrupt charges.

  • ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
    16·
    2 days ago

    There is no need to stress. The next Democratic President will issue blanket pardons, will no do investigations, or Presidential Commissions, or anything that sort.

    The Epstein Class always protects each other.

    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      2·
      1 day ago

      Politicians have been doing the exact same thing as the pedoprez for the history of USA and they will continue to do so regardless of “party” branding.

    • InputZero@lemmy.world
      9·
      2 days ago

      “Now is the time for unity, and to forgive our neighbors” Says every Democrat after a Republican president.

      “The Democrats are all antifa-terrorists and should be rounded up into a camp.” Says every Republican after a Democratic president.

      • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        2·
        1 day ago

        “The Democrats extreme left are all antifa-terrorists and should be rounded up into a camp.” Says every Republican after a Democratic president.

        Also this.

      • zbyte64@awful.systems
        2·
        2 days ago

        A bellwether is whether the politician supports abolishing ICE. If they are willing to uproot institutions then that includes presidential immunity.

    • Yuccagnocchiyaki@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 days ago

      Sorry, no they won’t. They will be constrained by technicalities and obscure parliamentarian positions that we never heard of until a key issue.

      However, they will have new tech and immunity to attack the progressive left. That won’t be an issue at all

  • inmate_p01135809@lemmy.world
    14·
    2 days ago

    He has set the precedent that presidents and their families can not only continue to run businesses while in office, but make governing decisions that lead to profit for those businesses. Oh, and getting payments for advertisements from the Resolute desk, and putting up paid advertisements on government property. Oh, and punish federal funding to states, companies, Universities, etc. for not following his executive orders, which are not laws, but are being treated as such.

    The only way to remedy this, I figure, is to have a democrat in office do every. single. thing. he is doing in office, until each thing has a law created by the other branches of government to make it illegal going forward.

    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      1·
      1 day ago

      He has set the precedent He has done what a disgusting imperial system allows…

      FTFY

      The only way to remedy this, I figure, is to have a democrat in office do every. single. thing. he is doing in office, until each thing has a law created by the other branches of government to make it illegal going forward.

      If both parties are doing the same thing, nobody is every going to stop it. Just look at all of USA history. As a very obvious example, they’re all talking bribes (aka lobbies), doing insider trading, etc. Ofc they’re getting that crypto cash too… Nobody gonna fix any of this ever. It’s a feature not a bug to them.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      2 days ago

      The only way to remedy this, I figure, is to have a democrat in office do every. single. thing. he is doing in office

      If you think Ritchie Torres, Elissa Slotkin, and Pete Buttigieg are going to save the county, you’re going to be very disappointed.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
    105·
    3 days ago

    I mean . . . Yeah. We know. We’ve been watching it happen every goddamned day.

    Thanks for the reminder Guardian. Maybe you could name and shame a little more? It’s not happening magically. People with names and institutions are doing this corruption, so. Map it out. kthx.

  • moldy_rice@piefed.keyboardvagabond.comEnglish
    12·
    2 days ago

    Likewise some analysts are troubled by how Trump has circumvented the constitution’s prohibition on foreign emoluments by accepting a $400m plane as a gift from Qatar, and how other wealthy foreigners have backed some Trump family hotel and golf deals abroad.

    Doesn’t the constitution ban all emoluments?

    Or is this just saying that the other reps are only outraged by accepting foreign bribes, because they all accept domestic bribes…

  • moldy_rice@piefed.keyboardvagabond.comEnglish
    11·
    2 days ago

    an “unprecedented” $2.2bn in 2025 revenues by…expanding his Truth Social business and more

    What? How does that make money? Is he selling sugar pills that claim to make your penis bigger or sth?

    Edit:

    Canter added that “Trump is increasingly dependent on the presidency to generate business profits since his media company has been losing money over the past several quarters.”

    Trump Media & Technology, the company behind the Truth Social platform, on 10 August announced it lost a whopping $238m in the three months through June as it branched out into new businesses including crypto.

    Oh, that sounds more correct

      • dermanus@lemmy.caEnglish
        7·
        2 days ago

        “You too can enjoy the same insider access as Barron Trump for the low, low price of $100,000 a month!”

      • danc4498@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        3 days ago

        They only trust the news that reports the things they want to hear.

        I think there’s others that think the things he does for the country are good. And they take the good with the bad. Like lowering taxes (even though mostly the rich benefitted from that). Or whatever the fuck DOGE claimed to do. Or brain worm measles you.

    • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      31·
      3 days ago

      They believe that everyone does it, and that Trump is just better at it.

      That’s why if you point out something corrupt they point to someone else who the think did something corrupt, instead of saying both should be investigated and punished if actually guilty.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        3 days ago

        Exactly: “Hunter Biden and his laptop! And Hunter sold art, can you even believe it? Hillary’s emails! Bill Clinton gets speaking fees, how is that even possible?”

        • artyom@piefed.socialEnglish
          17·
          3 days ago

          Lol remember when Hillary’s emails was this years-long scandal? And we just rolled over Signalgate in a couple weeks.

        • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2·
          3 days ago

          Yeah the problem I have with it is I can’t tell how many of them are just excusing peoples crimes because others commit crimes or excusing their crimes because they would do the same thing if they could, and point to others doing potentially other crimes as a “well anyone would do it” type of shit. ,

    • jaaake@lemmy.world
      17·
      3 days ago

      “Look at what a good businessman he is!”

      “If it was actually illegal, he’d be in prison!”

      “He’s so savvy to not pay for things when payment is due. Why would you pay if you didn’t have to?”

      “He’s made more money while president than any other president because he’s the first non-politician president.”

      • Malyca@lemmy.zip
        12·
        3 days ago

        My personal favorite: “he donates his salary, that proves he isn’t in it to make money. That’s why we elected him!”

    • Insekticus@aussie.zone
      13·
      3 days ago

      Don’t forget to take every last cent the family has. Literally leave them with nothing as punishment.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 days ago

        Agreed. Because they are not likely to serve full sentences; they should have to come out and live as paupers.

    • osannaEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      And then to die while in prison. He has to KNOW he lost. It’s not enough for him to just die. He needs to die in PRISON

  • nonentity@sh.itjust.works
    8·
    3 days ago

    Financial obesity is an existential threat to any society that tolerates it, and needs to cease being celebrated, rewarded, and positioned as an aspirational goal.

    Corporations are the only ‘persons’ which should be subjected to capital punishment, but trillionaires should be forced to transition into billionaires, and billionaires should be euthanised through taxation.

    • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
      2·
      2 days ago

      These Sociopathic Oligarchs have obvious OCD that manifests as Hoarding Syndrome, and their hoarding target is money. They have far, far more than they can ever use, and they have to have even more, even at the detriment of society, their fellow citizens, and even the world itself. They are literally destroying the planet to amass even more treasure, which they won’t even be able to use when the planet is 150 degrees, and they can’t leave their bunkers. Do we really have to wait until it gets to that point before somebody says Barney was right all alone ng, we should have shut this down long ago.

      NOW is the time to stop them, and take away their money. Many of the businesses they’ve built are detrimental to society, and we would be better off without them, or with them in control of responsible people who don’t have Financial Hoarding Syndrome, and will operate the company to benefit society, and not just make more useless profit.

      • Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        I think they’re just greedy, and they think that because they’ve got more money than everyone that means they’re smarter, better, more deserving than everyone. It’s not a far jump from there to “You will all kneel before me!”

        It’s obviously profoundly unhealthy for society to have extremely powerful individuals around who have this attitude. They need to be removed from society by whatever means necessary and steps taken to ensure their ilk cannot rise again.