Donald Trump is a lot of firsts. First president in history to have no prior political experience when elected in 2016. First to be found civilly liable of sexual abuse. First to be impeached twice. First to be a felon (34 times). First to dodge the draft 5 times. The first to not release his taxes. The first to not release his medical records. The oldest president to be inaugurated at 78 years old. But an important first to note is the most blatantly corrupt one. Donald Trump is the first president to not divest from his businesses.
Donald is the epitome of corruption. There is no “Art of the Deal” with Donald, only the art of the grift. During his business career, he constantly overspent, got in legal trouble, declared bankruptcy, got bailed out, then repeated that cycle. Donald built one of the most expensive privately funded buildings ever at the time called “Trump Taj Mahal.” Trump filed bankruptcy on the building due to the building causing three billion dollars of debt. He would then declare five more bankruptcies on the Trump Castle, Trump Plaza Hotel, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, and twice on Trump Entertainment Resorts, resulting in 6 total bankruptcies. It is also important to note that there are many blue-collar workers out there who never got paid for working for Trump. Trump does not feel sorry for the working people he screwed over, and even went as far as to say that bankruptcy laws are “very good for him.”
This is not even mentioning Donald’s failed businesses such as his water bottle company, Trump Ice Natural Spring Water, his airline company, Trump Shuttle, or his for-profit university, Trump University. Yes, it is normal for the typical entrepreneur to have many unsuccessful businesses before breaking big. But here’s the thing: Donald isn’t your typical entrepreneur. Credible news articles, such as The New York Times, have made estimates that Donald received over 400 million dollars from his father, Fred Trump. This estimate includes what Donald inherited, gifts from his father, real estate, and loans, many of which were not repaid. Donald was given everything he needed—a large fortune from his father, an already prominent name, huge tax cuts from New York City—and still found himself without success.
But Donald’s corruption was even more eminent in 2016, when he weaseled his way into the presidency. After being elected, Donald spent over 20% of his presidency golfing, which he had criticized Obama for prior, then played more golf than him. But Donald didn’t do what was the presidential norm when going golfing. Usually, a president is supposed to go golfing at a military course so that taxpayer money is not wasted. But not Donald. Donald would go to his own courses, then upcharge Secret Service for hotel fees. It cost the American people 144 million dollars during Donald’s first term so that he could go golfing, and a large part of that spending directly benefited his own business. When foreign diplomacy was needed, Donald would send the U.S. ambassador to his foreign hotels—yet another way he could profit using taxpayers’ money.
Now in 2025, Donald started a “memecoin.” The coin holds no real value, but still generated over $350 million. Why? Because Donald was selling the White House. The top donors to his memecoin were brought to the White House and given luxury gifts, and it’s reported that many of them went with the intent to give policy suggestions to Donald. Donald was selling political power. Additionally, Donald has just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar, after Qatar let him build a luxury hotel that would generate both millions for Qatar and Donald. Donald also had the DOJ drop their case on New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Democrat), not because of a lack of evidence, but because it was “political”. Now suddenly, Adams is very willing to follow Trump and his policies. It is important to note that these are just a few of the things that Donald has done to line his pockets as President.
Donald has spent his life in corruption. He profited off the backs of working people before screwing them over, he profited off the legal loopholes of being rich, and now he is using the presidency to make himself millions. Donald is not the face of the American dream, but the framework of a corrupt man.
For What it's Worth 
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