Even with only partial data for 2025, USA scores its worst rating ever for corruption, falling behind Uruguay

Making America Corrupt Again

by Philip Mattera, director of the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First for the Dirt Diggers Digest 

Among the many reasons why the people of Greenland would be better off sticking with Denmark rather than giving in to Donald Trump’s pressure campaign is the matter of public integrity. Transparency International (TI) has just released the latest edition of its Corruption Perceptions Index, and the country whose public sector once again ranks as the most honest in the world is the Kingdom of Denmark.

On a scale of zero to 100, Denmark gets a score of 89. Only four other countries score above 80: Finland, Singapore, New Zealand, and Norway. The United States, by contrast, drops to its lowest-ever score of 64, with a ranking of 29^th place. That puts it behind nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Estonia.

This slide, which TI notes does not yet fully reflect 2025 developments, does not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying even limited attention to the news. Along with practices such as cruelty to suspected undocumented migrants and gunboat diplomacy, rising corruption has been one of the hallmarks of Trump 2.0.

The TI index, which is based on assessments by a dozen research institutions, measures not only direct corrupt practices such as the prevalence of bribery of public officials and the extent to which those officials may be using their position in other ways for improper personal gain. It also assesses the deterioration of laws and practices meant to discourage corruption. These include judicial independence and legal protection for whistleblowers and journalists who shine a light on misconduct.

Both direct and indirect corruption have proliferated since Trump retook office. He has obliterated norms regarding the pursuit of outside business interests, vastly enriching himself and his family to the tune of $1.4 billion, according to a New York Times analysis.

Trump has abused the powers of his office to extract payments from corporations that may not meet the strict definition of bribery but should nonetheless be regarded as corrupt. These include settlements paid by media companies to resolve baseless lawsuits filed against them by Trump and the extravagant sum paid by Amazon to Melania Trump for the rights to a vanity film the First Lady arranged to have made about herself.

Another form of corruption consists of payments not directly to the Trumps but rather contributions to his pet projects, such as the White House ballroom, by corporations seeking to influence federal policies.  

Trump’s indirect acts have included the dismissal of the inspectors general of 17 federal agencies, thus making it a lot less likely that corruption within agencies will be detected. The administration has also taken action against journalists, including the highly unusual raid of a Washington Post reporter’s home by the FBI. Other assaults on civil society include steps toward the criminalization of certain kinds of non-governmental organizations.

TI warns that when democratic institutions are weakened and corruption flourishes, it is more likely that government will come under the control of narrow vested interests. The United States is moving steadily in that direction as the result of an unholy alliance between large corporations and the interests of Trump and his family business. They are reaping the full benefits of the “golden age of America” Trump promised in his second inaugural address. The rest of the country is left with something a lot less gilded.