Grifter-in-Chief Trump and the Grift That Keeps on Grifting
Robert Reich for Inequality Media
Not just by usurping the powers of Congress and ignoring Supreme Court rulings. Not just abducting people who are legally in the United States but have put their name to opinion pieces Trump doesn’t like and trucking them off to “detention” facilities.
Not just using the Justice
Department for personal vengeance. Not just unilaterally deciding how much
tariff tax American consumers will have to pay on almost everything they buy.
Polls show all these are tanking Trump’s popularity.
But one thing almost all Americans are firmly against — even
many loyal Trumpers — is bribery. And Trump is taking bigger and bigger bribes.
It was reported that he’s accepting a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane worth at least $400
million from the Qatari royal family, for use during his presidency and for
his personal use afterward.
Apparently he’s been talking about the plane for months. In
February, he toured it while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport.
He’s tried to redecorate the White House into a palace but
that’s not nearly as satisfying as flying around the world in one, especially
once he’s left the White House (assuming he will).
Attorney General Pam Bondi said it’s perfectly legal for him
to accept such a bribe, er, gift.
Hello?
The U.S. Constitution clearly forbids officers of the United States from taking gifts from foreign governments. It’s called the “emoluments clause.” (See Article I, Section 9, above left.)Anyone viewing Bondi as a neutral judge of what’s legal and
what’s not when it comes to Trump can’t be trusted to be a neutral judge of
Bondi. Recall that she represented Trump in a criminal proceeding. Presumably
he appointed her attorney general because he knew she’d do and say anything he
wanted.
Oh, and she used to lobby for Qatar.
So, what does Qatar get in return for the $400 million
plane? What’s the quid for the quo?
This week Trump takes the first overseas trip of his second presidency. He’ll land in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, followed by a visit to Qatar, and then to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E).
That’s a big boost for Qatar right there.
Trump also just did what Qatar has been wanting done for
years — announcing that the Persian Gulf (as it’s been known since at least 550
B.C.) will henceforth be known as the Arabian Gulf.
Trump’s company has just announced a new golf resort in
Qatar, reportedly partnering with a company owned by the royal family.
Qatar is also pushing the Trump regime to lift sanctions on
Syria.
The payback could be any number of things. The only
certainty is that you and I and other Americans won’t necessarily benefit.
This week’s trip to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E. is
as much a personal business trip for Trump and his family businesses as a
diplomatic trip.
Eric Trump, who officially runs the family business, has
just announced plans for a Trump-branded hotel and tower in Dubai, part of the
U.A.E.
The Trump family’s developments in the Middle East depend on
a Saudi-based real estate company with close ties to the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia has a long list of pressing matters before the United States,
including requests to buy F-35 fighter jets and gain access to nuclear power technology.
Trump’s family crypto firm, World Liberty Financial,
announced that its so-called “stablecoin” — with Trump’s likeness all over it —
will be used by the U.A.E. to make a $2 billion business deal with Binance, the
largest crypto exchange in the world. The deal will generate hundreds of
millions of dollars more for the Trump family.
I had assumed that Trump’s undoing would be his unquenchable thirst for power. It may yet be, but I’m beginning to think his insatiable greed will do him in. America’s Grifter-in-Chief knows no bounds.
© 2025 Robert Reich
Robert Reich is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. His book include: "Aftershock" (2011), "The Work of Nations" (1992), "Beyond Outrage" (2012) and, "Saving Capitalism" (2016). He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, former chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good" (2019). He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.
