The Latest Example of Trumpworld’s Corruption Is Pretty Funny. It’s Also Really Bad.

The Slatest Grifters All the Way Down Corruption is contagious, and Trump’s is spreading. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images, and Maksym/Adobe Stock. This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. Blatant corruption by Donald Trump and his family gets a lot of attention, and rightly so. In recent weeks, we’ve learned that a Russian oligarch helped pay for Donald Trump Jr.’s tropical wedding (Trump Jr. paid him back after the story broke) and that U.S. talks to end the war in Ukraine reportedly include an oil deal that would enrich investors in Trump family ventures. But focusing only on the first family can overlook similarly sleazy episodes of grift involving far smaller figures in the president’s orbit. In fact, it’s starting to look like many Trumpworld bit players, including some who don’t work for him directly, have been monetizing their ties to the administration. Let’s take a wade into the ever-deepening swamp. Which Trump hangers-on are we talking about and what did they allegedly do? At least one of them is a current administration official. This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump’s ambassador to Greece (and Don Jr.’s ex-fiancée), had begged a Trump donor to pay $100,000 of her American Express bill last year in exchange for getting Trump’s IRS commissioner to resolve the donor’s tax issues. (Ultimately, the donor never paid.) Officials who have since left office have also been accused of behavior that stinks of self-dealing. As Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem shot a taxpayer-funded ad campaign reportedly run by a consulting firm linked to her and her aides. And while serving in government, Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski reportedly tried to persuade Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to hire him on the side. Yikes. You mentioned people who don’t work for the government getting in on the grift, too? Yep. The New York Times reported this week that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, two of Trump’s top political advisers, got hundreds of thousands of dollars for advising the Russia-aligned government of a small Balkan territory. And as the Financial Times revealed today, it turns out that the daughter of Trump’s chief of staff works at a lobbying firm that’s done work for the same government. Have any of these people faced consequences? Some have, and others might. Gabriel Perez, an aide who operated Trump’s teleprompter, recently left the administration after revelations that he placed lucrative bets on the prediction market Kalshi based on the content of the president’s speeches. Guilfoyle’s days in the administration may be numbered, too. The Daily Mail reports that the State Department is investigating her over possible substance abuse, improperly accepting gifts, and more. Trump, meanwhile, seems mad at Blair and LaCivita, threatening to fire them over their Balkans work “if there’s a conflict.” But isn’t a lot of this lesser corruption … kind of Trump’s fault? It’s fair to think so. The president has established a culture of impunity from the top. His administration has fired inspectors general tasked with investigating federal corruption and seems to have intervened to help allies caught red-handed. In 2024, future “border czar” Tom Homan was reportedly recorded taking $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents. But Homan denied wrongdoing and the Justice Department closed the case after Trump took office. OK, that doesn’t look great. But don’t Democrats do this too? What about Hunter Biden? Fair question! Hunter was never a member of either the Obama or Biden administration, but he does seem to have traded on his last name to get money from a Ukrainian gas company, among other things. Still, if you think it’s a problem when Democrats leverage political connections for financial gain, you should probably be outraged about what Trump’s minions are doing, too. Step back: Why does this matter? To some extent, these are the consequences of lowered expectations. When a president openly commingles his personal interests with government work, it creates a permission structure for people below him to act in similar ways. But the conduct of this particular president’s underlings may end up embedding a culture of corruption that lasts beyond him. Many of them, like their boss, evidently don’t believe they’ll face serious accountability for their behavior. And although most federal employees don’t exploit their public roles for private gain, most Americans already believe government corruption is endemic. Realizing the public’s worst fears can fuel apathy about and disgust with politics, which in turn can help corrupt people get away with it. For that reason, the danger may not end when Trump leaves office. Instead, he and his underlings may be creating a precedent for future administrations that corruption isn’t just tolerated, it’s expected. Tolga Akdoğan OK, time to pivot from the slow debasement of public service to a public-service announcement from my colleagues about what to read and listen to if you’re looking for a distraction: A modern couple’s dilemma: In the latest installment of Unhinged, Steffi Cao counsels a letter writer about his ex-girlfriend getting upset when he made social plans without her—and whether it’s a red flag if the person you’re dating doesn’t have friends of their own. Some love for the runners-up: In the 1980s, the pop charts were full of near-miss hits, in which songs stalled out just before reaching No. 1 or making it into the Top 10 or Top 40. Tune in to the newest episode of Hit Parade to learn why the Reagan era was chock-full of iconic No. 2, No. 11, and No. 41 hits. A dark read: In 1977, Stephen King pseudonymously published Rage, an unsettling novel about a school shooter. Jack Hamilton explores how this controversial story connects to King’s better-known works. Some tips for scaredy cats: If you don’t like spooky scary skeletons, creepy crawlies, or horror flicks, Halloween season can be a fright to endure. But there are ways to conquer your fears. Mathias Clasen, the author of A Very Nervous Person’s Guide to Horror Movies, explains how jumpscares work, and how you can learn to love them—or at least tolerate them. Spooky season may be in full swing, but never fear: I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. Enjoy your night!