Trump blurred the public purse with private commercial interest like a monarch

Evidence

Like royal families of yore, they make little distinction between the public purse and their private interest. The Trump sons travel the world conducting Trump Organization business on the taxpayer’s dime, while son-in-law Jared Kushner has bought and sold as much as $147 million of real estate and other assets since joining the White House. Meanwhile, foreign political leaders and representatives pay for expensive rooms and hold lavish events at the Trump International Hotel. In a democracy answering to the rule of law, such corrupt and nepotistic practices would register as major scandals. In a monarchy, or pseudo-monarchy, however, they are merely business as usual. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 214

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the author’s overall argument about Christian nationalism fusing church and state power, and to broader work on Trump-era corruption norms.