In a column for the Bulwark, longtime conservative journalist Mona Charen stated all the warning signs are there that a return of Donald Trump to the White House will come hand-in-hand with some of his billionaire supporters getting unprecedented access to the levers of power in Washington, D.C.
According to Charen, the former president has gained overt support from billionaire Elon Musk, who is campaigning for him, and covert support from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who used his power as owner of the Washington Post to overrule an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
As she explained, a Trump win would usher in a golden age for oligarchs who placed their bets on Trump.
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"This is what a second Trump term would bring: fat cats getting theirs," she argued. "Trump is the most corrupt figure ever to disgrace the White House and has made no secret of his intention to reward friends and punish enemies if he regains power. The would-be oligarchs recognize the new game and are preparing to operate in a world where government impartiality and above-board decision making are relegated to the dustbin of history."
Charen added that the conservative Supreme Court greased the wheels for all involved by essentially making the former president above the law.
As she put it: "Put those things together, and you have a perfect recipe for massive official corruption."
The columnist focused in on Musk's international entanglements which she believes make him most dangerous to American democracy.
"Whom does Musk support—the United States, Russia, China, or whoever is best for business at the moment?" she asked. "It’s a measure of how dangerous this moment is that we need to ask."
"Even if Kamala Harris wins the election, the unprecedented global power of private oligarchs like Musk will be difficult to rein in," she predicted. "If Trump wins, we’re entering uncharted territory where private actors with vast wealth and power join with a corrupt president to pursue their own ends and not those of the people of the United States."
"Welcome to oligarchy, American style," she darkly warned.
You can read more here.