Local opinion: The most successful president in history

The President’s approval rating plummets by the hour, yet for Donald Trump and the Trump family's enterprises, business has never been better in their lifetimes. The Trumps have successfully monetized the presidency, and the White House has become their personal profit center. This is profoundly wrong.

Trump's company profits are soaring. They could use a shovel to handle the cash inflow. The Trumps commit graft-ridden crimes in the open, and their personal DOJ does nothing, ignoring the family's pursuit of filthy lucre, while Republicans in the Senate and House ask no questions and embrace Trump’s unaccountable, unilateral authority. News sources estimate that the Trumps have increased their personal wealth by $4 billion since taking office in 2026. Writ even larger, Forbes reports that “The Donald's” personal net worth has soared to nearly $6.5 billion in the second term. Do not look away, America. This is serious graft.

I call it trickle-down corruption politics. We have a rotten political system under Trump and a criminal justice system that refuses to investigate the corrupt manipulation by this family and their friends. This is because scores of people in the Trump Administration are also receiving huge monetary benefits due to Trump’s corruption, including massive insider trading. Crises like this don’t age well.

So how is it that Trump’s remarkable business and financial success is unfolding as his unmitigated Iran war disaster spirals on with no plans to end, as Trump pulls the whole world into his warfare, producing global economic chaos? All while he personally attacks the Pope and releases a disgusting AI-generated picture of himself that resembles Jesus Christ? Is nothing sacred? And while Trump’s economy is deteriorating amid historically shattering inflation numbers, Donald Trump is not adept at solving complex problems.

Trump’s grotesque pocket-lining is not hard to follow. The family does not even try to hide it. They doubled their money at the start of the second term by selling Trump “meme” coins, generating more revenue than they did over the four years they ran their massive Washington, D.C., hotel, where they shook down foreign governments and businesses during the first Trump Administration.

Trump’s graft hinges on access to power. All members of the family, as well as close friends, are involved in conflicts of interest when investing in companies that depend on new federal, taxpayer-funded grants and contracts. Additionally, the Trump Organization did not complete a single overseas deal during the first term. So far, they have signed eight international deals, generating millions in cash. They have cultivated ventures in India, Indonesia, Scotland, and even China. And there are five huge Persian Gulf deals in play. This is mind-blowing corruption.

The MAGA Tribe and Republicans excuse everything Trump does. They don’t see anything wrong with the Presidential exploitation, collusion, graft, and personal profiteering. Their motto is to forgive and forget.

There is an elephant in the room: Multiple new polls confirm that Trump’s net approval rating on the economy is -32 (negative 32), the worst for any president over the past 50 years, including former Presidents Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter, whom Trump often maligns. An AP/NORC poll found that even one in three Republican voters now disapprove of his performance. Something is starting to shift.

The scale, magnitude, and extent of Trump's corruption are beyond imagining and difficult to fully quantify. His self-enrichment is so vast that this exploitation in American politics has no precedent. It violates the oath of office and reveals his contempt for Americans. Trump, the King of Corrosive Rhetoric, consistently deepens America's political sickness.

To the Trumps, there are two kinds of truth, theirs and others'. Trump lies and lies, and those in charge of our government shrug. The Donald puts it this way, “As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person.” Ya think? Meanwhile, he races to the bottom.

We Americans have an obligation to defend ourselves. The Trump family's blatant corruption and lawlessness will haunt America and the world for years to come, and conditions will continue to worsen under Trump.