In the midst of the dissolution of the Trump-Musk bromance, it is easy to get distracted. There are many actions that are worthy of comment, but I want to focus on one in particular.

The amount of greed and misuse of government power being employed to aid the President, his family and friends is beyond excessive.

I want to pause and acknowledge that most Presidencies have had friends and family make money off of their proximity to power and implicit influence they can wield for the right price. Often it is those seeking special favors who seek out the unwitting (e.g., Billy Carter who was hired by Libya). Then, there are those whose livelihoods are connected to their relatives in power whether Democrat or Republican.

What we are witnessing today is at a very different dimension. And, unlike the Rodham brothers or Neil Bush, this effort is being choreographed by the President who sees nothing wrong with what is happening.

Can you imagine the reaction of Lindsey Graham or Mike Johnson if Barack Obama had accepted a plane from Qatar? Or, what if Bill and Hillary Clinton had set up a company to sell coins of themselves to foreign nationals from China?

My suggestion to those who are unsure about how to get their elected officials to act is to ask them whether they think it is OK to get this kind of personal money based on the offices they hold. And, if not, how is it OK for Trump?  And, when will they finally speak up about it?

I raise this point for two reasons. First, unlike a tax bill or protecting the border, there are legitimate differences of opinion. On this level of self-dealing based on your elected position in a democracy, there is no legitimate “other side” and “whataboutism” fails in scope and size, if nothing else.

Secondly, one rule of politics tends to be that when someone is taking all of the heat for you (Trump) you can hide behind him and feel safe. However, if he becomes the source of the heat on the issue of his corrupt behavior which is easily understood, then it is harder to defend him.

A final note. Trump threatened to end Musk’s government contracts. Presumably, he can’t do it by fiat (although he would try). He also threatened Musk if he helps Democrats. This is what corruption breeds – a sense that you can do whatever you want and no one can stop you. Let’s see if enough Americans see avarice that flows from Trump and his enablers will make the Congress start acting like they should and not be meek followers of Trump. Clearly, if they are counting on him being loyal to them, they haven’t been paying attention.