Calling him out for an unprecedented level of “shameless corruption and sheer moral repugnance” as he attempts to cash in on his father’s office, a new breakdown from MS NOW argued that Donald Trump Jr. just might be the “worst presidential relative ever.”
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In a piece published Sunday morning, author and commentator Paul Waldman noted that “problematic presidential family members are an American tradition as old as the republic,” noting examples like Theodore Roosevelt’s hot-headed daughter, Alice, and Jimmy Carter’s “colorful buffoon” brother, Billy. Under the second administration of President Donald Trump, however, he argued that his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has become the “new standard by which all future misbehavior among presidential offspring should be judged.”
While admitting that the younger Trump has not actually committed any crimes, Waldman argued that in an age when anti-corruption rules are so lax, “all that stops Don Jr. from enriching himself at public expense is shame or a sense of morality — and he is clearly possessed of neither.” He also, seemingly, has been spurred on by his father’s own relentless pursuit of self-enrichment.
“When it comes to grasping for taxpayer money, shameless corruption and sheer moral repugnance, none who came before can hold a candle to Donald Trump Jr.,” Waldman wrote. “He has cemented his position as perhaps the most distasteful and ethically compromised presidential relative in American history — and his father isn’t even halfway through his second term.”
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He continued later: “Don Jr. wasn’t just going to sit by and watch Dad have all the fun. So he has undertaken his own frenzy of dealmaking, all of it seemingly based on the fact that he’s the president’s son. Some of the enterprises are joint ventures with the whole family. There’s World Liberty Financial, a crypto company that has been the vehicle for some of the biggest players looking to give payoffs to the Trumps and get something in return. As an investigative report revealed, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser secretly invested half a billion dollars in the company. Not long after, the Trump administration lifted export controls on computer chips the UAE desperately wants to create its own artificial intelligence infrastructure (Commerce Department staff objected to the change, but the White House cites the UAE’s position as a U.S. ally.)”
Donald Trump Jr., alongside his younger brother, Eric Trump, have also found ways to consistently cash in on the U.S. government’s increased defense spending. As Waldman described the dynamic, the siblings have made investments in smaller defense companies, “then watch as huge government contracts magically materialize.” Another company they are extensively invested in, Kaz Resources, received $1.6 billion in investments from the federal government, and saw the president himself intervene to make sure the company received special access to tungsten mines in Kazakhstan as part of a new deal with the country.
“Don Jr. has always had the air of a man desperate to please his indifferent father,” Waldman concluded. “This spring, the president couldn’t even be bothered to attend his son’s wedding. But if he keeps this up, he’ll be able to say, ‘See Dad, I’m just as greedy and corrupt as you!’ It’s an achievement no presidential relative can match.”
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