Trump created a $1.7 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund for himself and his MAGA cronies to compensate themselves for alleged prosecutorial overreach during the Biden years. Never have taxpayers been subjected to such brazen self-dealing at the hands of a president who purports to represent them and wants to drain the swamp.
It’s on Me, Er, You
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The TMI Show" talk show. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Trump SAID he wanted to “drain the swamp.” We know saying and doing are not the same.
But perhaps we made some bad assumptions about about WHY Trump would want to drain the swamp. When we heard his promise, we thought the draining was to get rid of unwanted creatures therein. But a few moments reflection makes it clear that Trump’s actual motive was to dredge from the profound depths of the muck the most slimy and hideous beings the swamp had to offer … with whom to populate his executive branch’s operational inner sanctum. In that case we must concede that he has fulfilled that promise.
The slush fund is a grifter’s work of art … that presumably has the Clinton’s and Biden’s soiling themselves in envy. But it’s hardly $11 per tax return (154 million filed in 2025). Drivers must already be paying at least that much more per tank of gas … due to Trump’s exceptionally clever maneuver to elevate Iran into the top echelons of nations of power. Those gas bills will go higher.
I get it. I get it. Trump just took advantage of a loophole that has been in existence for half a century and which Congress was warned about specifically a decade ago. Remember when Trump told Hillary Clinton that he used the same tax loopholes her wealthy donors did? And added that she didn’t do anything about it when she was in the Senate.
Ted’s correct about this being the most brazen bit of self-dealing by a president, but it’s just one in a very long line of such acts by those in power (and/or family members). It seems that much of the outrage is that Trump wasn’t more discreet. There’s a long, rich tradition here of these leaders pulling fast ones and usually getting away with it: Richard Burr, Kelly Loeffler, Dianne Feinstein, Tommy Tuberville, Chris Collins, the Bidens, the Clintons, Bob Menendez, Randy Cunningham …
Maybe if the democrats had made examples out of the behavior of their own, they’d be in a position now to actually do something.
Still, we see this in other empires of wealth as well. Look at the Gates Foundation. “Oh, Gates isn’t in charge of that money.” Right. He’s still in charge, but he doesn’t “control” the money. Just what’s done with it.
In a way, I’m beginning to admire Donald Trump. He’s venal and obvious. He’s tacky. There’s no polish to the man. But he’s 100 times better at this grift thing than any of these coy carpetbaggers who’ve come before him.