In his first hours back in office, President Trump made one thing clear: the rules that applied before no longer apply now.
He immediately revoked President Biden’s ethics pledge — a policy that had barred lobbyist gifts and restricted government officials from quickly jumping into influence-peddling roles after leaving office. The rollback wasn’t subtle. It signaled a broader shift: a government more open to personal enrichment and less concerned with appearances of corruption.
Ethics watchdogs didn’t hold back. Public Citizen accused Trump of replacing his old “drain the swamp” message with a structure designed to reward insiders. For Trump’s critics, the move was less about policy and more about greenlighting self-dealing at the highest levels.
“Trump didn’t just kill the rules — he rewrote the game board.”
That impression wasn’t helped by what followed. Trump and Melania launched two cryptocurrencies — $TRUMP and $MELANIA — which rapidly ballooned in value. Insiders quietly held the majority of both tokens. The result? A massive financial upside if the prices rose, which they did. In just two weeks, the coins generated close to $100 million in trading fees.
At the same time, Melania signed a $40 million media deal with Amazon for a documentary. The concern wasn’t just the optics of a First Lady taking a lucrative contract — it was that Amazon remains one of the largest federal contractors, with ongoing interests in regulatory decisions. Ethics experts raised questions about whether this deal blurred the line between personal brand and public role.
Then there’s Truth Social, the social platform Trump owns a majority stake in. As president, Trump has actively promoted the company, boosting its public profile and, at times, its stock price. It’s a clear example of how political power and private business are increasingly intertwined under his leadership.
Perhaps most telling is how Trump is reshaping the machinery of government itself.