Donald Trump was never as rich as he pretended to be on TV and the tabloids. Racked by debt and constantly bankrupting companies like casinos, football, steaks and booze, Trump lived big by borrowing and exploiting his name recognition. When Mark Burnett came to him with The Apprentice, Trump was spiraling financially.
Trump's exploitation of meme coins and crypto reads like a terrible joke, but the reality is that these essentially fraudulent vehicles are perfect for both corruption in general and bilking the rubes that worship you. Remember the Trump Phone?
Trump has benefitted from an ill-informed cynicism on the part of millions of Americans that all politicians are deeply corrupt. There is certainly corruption that predates Trump, the difference is that we used to prosecute people for it. We used to expect that criminality on the part of our elected officials would lead to consequences.
The brash, tacky extravagance of Trump's garish tastelessness is getting through to average Americans. The East Wing, the Reflecting Pool, the Trump Arch, the laughable 250th celebrations. People get it.
Can Democrats tie Trump's gilded extravagances to the fact that prices are rising and the job market is stagnant and housing is unaffordable? You have Trump literally saying he doesn't care about Americans' finances. He says "affordability" is a "made up word."
Americans always lean into their preconceptions about the two parties. They've always known that Republicans are more favorable to the very rich. Sometimes they're OK with that, believing that Republicans will get them rich, too. (Spoiler alert: no)
The corruption is bad. The inflationary policies are bad. Americans need to be made to understand that they are the same issue and that Trump is the root of all of it.
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