FLASH
Shkruar nga Ali Velshi
$3.4 billion in profits, the Presidency that brought the Trump family the wealth of the century...
When The New Yorker's David Kirkpatrick set out to determine how much Donald Trump and his family have profited from his time as president, experts told him the exact numbers were unknown. So Kirkpatrick crunched the numbers himself, and the scale he reported is staggering: Since entering the White House in 2017, Kirkpatrick says the Trump family has reportedly profited a staggering $3.4 billion.
According to Kirkpatrick’s new report in The New Yorker, the gains extend throughout the Trump family network. Much of this wealth would have been unimaginable without the presidency. A $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia went into Jared Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, while investors from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar contributed billions more last year alone. (Kushner has denied that the investments in his company represent a conflict of interest.)
As Kirkpatrick notes, after doing the math, it's reasonable to assume that Kushner could personally pocket between half and two-thirds of Affinity's fees over the next 10 years.
There's also the luxury jet given to the president by the emir of Qatar, which Trump has said he will donate to his presidential library after he leaves office, and at least five separate cryptocurrency ventures trading under Trump's name and political brand. But that's just a starting point.
Start with Mar-a-Lago. Once a $100,000 club, Trump began significantly increasing the initiation fee after the 2016 election. Kirkpatrick notes that, as of last fall, it was scheduled to increase to a staggering $1 million. Kirkpatrick estimates that Mar-a-Lago alone generated at least $125 million in additional profits directly related to Trump’s political rise.
Then there's Trump's merchandise. He's the first presidential candidate to run a private online store, putting supporters' money directly into his own pocket. Kirkpatrick reported that nearly $28 million has come in from MAGA hats, sneakers, picture books and even that infamous "God Bless the USA" Bible.
Don't forget all those legal bills. Under U.S. law, campaign funds can't cover a candidate's personal expenses, but political action committees can. According to Kirkpatrick, Trump found a loophole by using Political Action Committees (PACs) as his personal bank for funding his lawyers. By Kirkpatrick's estimate, more than $100 million in contributions from supporters have gone to defend Trump against lawsuits and criminal charges.
When you add up the money from Mar-a-Lago, merchandise, and money spent on legal fees by PACs, Trump is said to have earned about $253 million, and that’s before you factor in foreign money. From Kushner’s money from the Saudis, to stable businesses from Gulf monarchies and foreign governments like Vietnam, Trump’s businesses have become conduits of influence for despots and states eager to cash in on him.
“The claims that this President has profited from his time in office are absolutely absurd,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement to The New Yorker. Leavitt said Trump had in fact sacrificed “hundreds of millions of dollars” by choosing to serve as president and not work on his businesses full-time.
It's a fundamental redefinition of what public service means. Once upon a time, Americans worried about politicians being bought. Under Trump, the most powerful office in the country is for sale.
But it's not just about personal enrichment. As The Wall Street Journal reported, Trump is reshaping the American economy into something that looks like "state capitalism with American characteristics." As in China, it's a system where the state, or in this case, Trump, rewards friends and punishes enemies.
The president has steered billion-dollar deals, fired top executives and, as the Journal points out, extracted $1.5 trillion in investment pledges from Japan, the European Union and South Korea, which he claims he will personally direct, although there does not appear to be any legal mechanism to do so. /Adapted from “MSNBC”
Lini një Përgjigje