Profiteering from the Presidency

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The act of "profiteering"generally refers to trying to make a quick buck or excessive profits by taking unfair advantage of a shortage of goods or an emergency situation.  When Donald John returned to the White House for his final term a year ago last January, he probably saw the limited number of days that he would be able to sit on his political perch and snatch and grab based on his power and position in American government as an emergency.   And while Donald John has done little that will benefit ordinary citizens during this term, he has managed to stuff his pockets with more than a billion dollars.  

In a financial disclosure report filed with the US Office of Government Ethics last week that covers the first year of his second term,  Trump reported the sale of tokens related to the family's crypto business at between $500 million and $590 million for the year, and meme coins and digital trading cards generating around $635 million.   (That's over a billion dollars with just tho two revenue sources, and there were plenty more.  (Trump watches, anyone?  Or golden sneakers?  Or cologne and perfume? Or country clubs and golf courses!)

Trump says he doesn't take a paycheck from the government.  That may be, but he is doing quite well financially by virtue of his position in the American political system nonetheless.  Donald John is getting his while the getting is good!

Trump's financial report to the US Office of Government Ethics was 927 pages in length.  The one filed by Joe Biden during his last year in office was 11 pages, and Obama's final financial disclosure as President was only eight.  The one JD Vance filed was 17 pages.  Thirty-nine years down the road when he's the age Trump is now, it will probably be longer.

The presidency needs to be about governing and making the lives of ordinary Americans better.  Its function should not be to generate personal wealth.  It is a leadership post, not aa profit-center.