Opinion: Why Trump Can Do No Wrong

The article argues that Donald Trump has fundamentally altered how political scandal is perceived by acting openly and “brazenly,” thereby allowing his supporters to rationalize his misconduct as “transparency.”

The New Paradigm of Political Scandal

• The author asserts that Trump has transformed the understanding of political misconduct, essentially reversing the saying “It’s not the crime; it’s the cover-up” into: If there is no cover-up, there must not have been a crime.
• The operative word for the alleged conduct of the second Trump administration is “brazen,” characterized by openly self-dealing acts instead of secret dark deeds.

Key Examples of Alleged Brazen Misconduct

• Ukraine Quid Pro Quo: In 2019, Trump openly demanded that President Zelensky investigate Joe and Hunter Biden, as well as a 2016 conspiracy theory, immediately after Zelensky requested Javelin anti-tank missiles. Trump later called this action “perfect.”
• Qatar Plane Gift & Security Guarantee: He accepted a gift of a new plane (destined for his presidential library) from Qatar—a nation that supports Hamas—and then provided the country with an American security guarantee by executive order.
• Crypto Pardon and Deals:
  • Pardoned convicted crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao after Zhao’s company helped boost the market capitalization of a Trump family stablecoin product from $127 million to over $2.1 billion.
  • The Trump and Witkoff families entered a multibillion-dollar crypto deal with the United Arab Emirates, followed two weeks later by the White House allowing the UAE access to advanced computer chips.
• Financial Gain: Trump and his family are estimated to have profited $3.4 billion during his terms in the White House.
• Political Favors and Prosecution: He granted legal favors to allies (pardoning Jan. 6 rioters, commuting George Santos‘s sentence) while using the Department of Justice to attempt to prosecute political enemies, such as James Comey and Letitia James.

The “Transparency” Defense and Its Rationale

• Trump’s defenders, including Republican figures like Senator Markwayne Mullin and Speaker Mike Johnson, rationalize the open misconduct by calling it “transparent” and “out in the open,” arguing he is not trying to conceal anything.
• The author argues this is a false defense, comparing it to saying a bank robbery is not a crime if the assailant smiles for the security cameras.
• The strategy works because many partisan supporters, who often lack knowledge of complex laws or political ethics, do not believe deeds done in the open can be corrupt and are desperate to rationalize the actions of their favored politician.

Conclusion: Escalation of Power

• The sheer volume and open nature of the corruption make it difficult to summarize and impossible, for now, to stop.
• This dynamic allows for an escalation of power where the president acts without congressional or legal constraint, even on matters of war and peace.