Presidential Corruption

A Conversation with Jacob Soboroff

[transcript edit for clarity, flow and length]

I stopped by Jacob Soboroff’s new show to discuss the unprecedented, gobsmacking corruption of Donald and his immediate family, and the ways I believe their grift endangers American national security. I hope you enjoy.

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Jacob Soboroff: Joining me now is Mary Trump, the president’s niece. She is the host of Mary Trump Media on YouTube and author of The Good in Us on Substack. She is also the author of multiple books, including Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.

Mary, it’s so good to talk to you.

Mary Trump: Hey, Jacob. It’s great to be here.

Jacob Soboroff: My guess is you weren’t surprised, but when you heard the amount of money the president has made during his first year back in office, I wondered how all of that landed with you.

Mary Trump: It doesn’t land well, and it shouldn’t land well with any of us. Once again, Donald has positioned himself to benefit from a position he neither deserves nor earned. Even more alarming is, once again, the number of people willing either to look the other way or actively enable him.

It should infuriate every American. We’re looking at a situation in which Donald and his useless children are enriching themselves by leveraging the power of the presidency and doing so off the backs of the American people. At the same time, many of the people who placed their trust and faith in Donald Trump have lost significant amounts of money. Nearly one million people have reportedly lost more than $3.8 billion, averaging roughly $3,800 per person.

That is absolutely despicable.

Jacob Soboroff: During his interview with CNBC on Thursday, the president said the Oval Office serves a much bigger purpose than whether or not he makes money.

This is what Donald Trump said:

You know why I don’t care? Because I have a much bigger purpose. This is the Oval Office. It’s a much bigger purpose than whether or not I make money. As an example, the president’s the highest paid person in government and by some standards he gets a lot of money. I’m the only president, they say, that’s ever given up my salary. I gave up my salary.

What’s it like for you to hear that?

Mary Trump: It’s appalling.

Yes, the president earns a substantial salary by the standards of most Americans. I don’t know the exact figure, but it’s somewhere around $450,000 a year. Donald refusing that salary is nothing more than a fig leaf designed to distract from the extraordinary grift and the potentially criminal conduct he’s engaged in to enrich himself.

We also can’t overlook another part of his financial disclosures. They revealed that he received tens of millions of dollars that were, in effect, bribes from social media platforms and corporate media companies. Those same companies later received billions of dollars in government contracts.

The grift is comprehensive.

More importantly, I believe that when the President of the United States openly signals that he doesn’t care about enriching himself through his office, expects the public simply to accept it, and demonstrates that he is effectively for sale, that poses a genuine threat to American national security.

Jacob Soboroff: It’s not just the president. It’s Melania, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr. as well. You’ve written extensively about your cousins. They’re making money in ways we simply haven’t seen from previous first families.

How does the broader Trump family fit into all of this?

Mary Trump: I think it’s all of a piece.

The Trump family has engaged in this kind of potentially illicit conduct for decades. It began with my grandfather, who accepted tens of millions of dollars in financing from the Federal Housing Administration to build rental housing in Brooklyn and Queens. He then turned around and significantly undervalued those same properties to reduce his tax burden.

This has been the family business model for generations: enriching themselves at other people’s expense.

I suppose you could say Donald’s children come by it honestly.

But in the end, it’s an appalling reflection on the United States. What’s even more disturbing is that no one currently in a position of power seems willing to do anything about it.

To me, that underscores what must happen if people who actually believe in accountability return to government.

If we once again have leaders who understand that presidents and their families should not be permitted to enrich themselves by exploiting the presidency, one of the very first priorities must be to clearly define the Emoluments Clauses and establish meaningful penalties for presidents who engage in this kind of corruption.

Jacob Soboroff: Mary Trump, it’s so good to have you with us on Connect. Mary is the host of Mary Trump Media on YouTube and the niece of President Donald Trump.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Mary Trump: Thank you.

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