If there’s one thing we know with absolutely certainty about Donald Trump, it’s this: He’s a bottom line kinda guy. Instead of wondering how the decisions he makes will impact others, it’s all about what’s in it for Don the Con. If there’s no profit to be made, Trump isn’t even mildly interested.
Which brings us to the real reason the President-elect sought the White House in the first place. For power? Not really. For adoration? He’s pretty much got that avenue covered all by himself. But as Trump himself once remarked:
“It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.”
Bingo! Donald Trump plans to make a cool fortune off his years in office. And as was discussed earlier today on the MSNBC show AM Joy, the 45th President could easily add several billion dollars to his bottom line. Specifically, writer Paul Waldman explained exactly how Trump will seek to feather his and his family’s nests:
“Trump is going to be turning over his business to his children and they are going to be going around the world doing deals in which it’s very possible that not only foreign interests but even foreign governments could directly be putting money into Donald Trump’s bank account. You have to understand that the way that Trump makes most of his money these days is with brand licensing. Buildings these days? He doesn’t really do a lot of that. He’ll go someplace and say to a developer in some foreign country, ‘You’re putting up a hotel or a resort and if you put the Trump name on it, I’ll let you do that and you’ll pay me a couple of million dollars a year for the privilege of using that name.”
Trump will control American foreign policy, so what country won’t want to make sure the President of the United States is happy with the business arrangements they make on his behalf? Waldman then detailed how he sees the entire racket playing out with Trump inhabiting the Oval Office:
“And that is a business that is absolutely just ripe for people who want to exercise influence with the United States government and shape the United States government policy by putting money into Donald Trump’s bank account. They could say, ‘Okay, we’ll give you this licensing deal, Ivanka, or Eric, or Donnie, and we’ll pay you twice what you thought you were going to get.’ And then when it comes time for the United States to make policy related to that government, is that going to affect the decisions that are made? I think it’s becoming more and more clear that Trump is going to be using the presidency as an opportunity to make millions and millions and maybe even billions of dollars.”
The national security implications of such an arrangement are both unavoidable and frightening. Meanwhile, if the American economy tanks as a result, Trump doesn’t give a diddly damn. He’s in it for himself; the rest of us are just along for the ride.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org