The corruption isn’t the main point anymore. The profiting off the office. That was always there, sure. A dirty side effect.
But now? Now it is the whole show.
Look at the last seven days. Just look at them.
Trump created a $1.7 billion “anti-weaponization fund.” He is the only one watching it. It came from a made-up lawsuit against the IRS.
And for this fake fight? He bought himself immunity. For himself. His kids. His business. The IRS cannot audit him. Ever again.
Three thousand seven hundred stock trades. In three months. He bought before he acted. Sold after he decided. It is not clever. It is blatant.
Then there is the crypto stunt. World Liberty Financial. One and a half billion dollars flowing to the family since late last year.
It looks like greed. Most people feel sick when politicians take cash. It feels wrong. Intuitive even.
But Trump is doing something worse. He is changing the code. He wants to replace the rule of law with a simpler question.
Do you know the president?
That is the only metric now.
Breaking the Social Contract
There is a book. Violence and Social Orders. Written by political scientists. Douglass North. John Wallis. Barry Weingast. Good reading if you want to lose faith.
They split societies into two boxes.
One box is the “natural state.” This was history for thousands of years. Kings. Dukes. Warlords. It works for the people at the top. They use their power to take money from the rest of you. Rent-seeking. That is the fancy word for robbery with legal permission. Think feudal Europe. The noble owns the land. The peasant pays tribute. The rules protect the noble’s children. Not you.
“The essence of a natural state is personal关系的,” the authors write. Every law changes based on who you are. Who your father is. Who you owe a favor to.
The other box is the “open access” order. This is what the U.S. was supposed to be. Impersonal. Neutral.
In an open state, rules apply to everyone. A rich guy cannot buy his way out of a jail cell. A poor person can sue a bank. You don’t get power because your uncle was King. You get it by winning within the system. Or trying to.
It is a flawed system. Race matters. Money matters. But the framework is impersonal. The laws do not change because the President liked your daughter’s laugh.
Trump is dismantling that box. He is smashing it.
He wants to drag America back into the first box. The natural state.
It is a return to the personalist mission.
The New Feudalism
It happens in the Justice Department first. Independence? Gone. It is a tool now. He prosecutes enemies. He lets friends off the hook. Not based on law. Based on loyalty.
It happens with tariffs. You want a break? Come say hello. Make him feel important. Flatter him. Get the exemption.
It happens in the military. General? Fired. If you are a woman or a minority or just don’t agree. The Defense Secretary does it. Not because you failed. Because you are not his guy.
Even the DOT Secretary takes a family road trip. Paid for by Toyota. Boeing. While he holds the keys to the transportation budget.
This is not just corruption. It is a system upgrade. One where the operating system is “Personal Favor.”
Traditional corruption is stealing money. This is different. It is eroding the idea that the government belongs to anyone other than him.
It looks authoritarian. It feels scary. But it is also logical. To a certain type of person. The same person who thinks they own the building.
The Rot Sets In
Trump doesn’t read North, Wallis, and Weingast. He probably hasn’t heard of them.
But they are right about what comes next.
It is not a clean coup. It is too messy. The administration is incompetent. Chaotic. It does not have the precision of a military takeover.
It is worse than that.
It is a blend. They are keeping the old structures but poisoning the water.
Corporations know what to do. Lobbying is old school. Persuasive arguments are weak now.
Bribe. Flatter.
Make the President richer. Make him laugh. Get the regulation. Get the payout.
It kills competition. If success depends on your relationship with one man, who cares if your product is better? Who cares if your service is efficient?
Hungary tried this. Economic stagnation followed. Growth died because connections mattered more than profit.
The arts suffered too. Culture died because no one took risks. Everyone played it safe with the King.
North et al. have a passage. It feels uncomfortable now.
In an open order, courts check the President. Legislation constrains power.
In a natural state? The courts do nothing. The legislature writes vague laws so the Executive has total freedom.
“Corrupt courts do not constrain the executive… leaving the executive great freedom to allocate funds as desired.”
We are seeing it.
Disaster relief goes to red states. Blue states wait.
Social Security is safe. Too many people would die. But the logic is leaking elsewhere.
What happens when you need a permit? A contract. A fair trial?
You need to be his friend.
This is the point. Trump wants to rule by whim. Total freedom. No constraints.
It breaks the social order. The invisible glue holding society together is the idea that we play by the same rules.
He is saying we don’t.
He is replacing the rules with his mood.
It will take years. Even if he loses in 2026. The precedent is set.
The open door is closing. Slowly. But definitely.
