Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says Donald Trump's corruption problem is finally breaking through, and that a Democratic wave in November could bring an unprecedented round of investigations.
"The cesspit of corruption that is Donald Trump's presidency is finally getting the attention it deserves," the former New York Times columnist wrote Monday on his Substack. He argued that the president is running out of defenders and doesn't seem to realize it.
Krugman cited a recent Wall Street Journal editorial as evidence.
The paper's editorial board warned that Trump family businesses will be "in the spotlight on Capitol Hill for the next two years," referencing Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), who has called for subpoenas over Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration. Forbes reported that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Bahamas event.
"A toaster is a wedding gift," Curtis said. "A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected Oligarch is something else." Trump Jr. and his wife have said "sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift."
According to the economist, "A clear indication of this breakthrough was the startling Oct 2nd lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal — yes, that left-wing rag, the Wall Street Journal —excoriating the Trump family’s corruption," adding, "... apparently even the formerly pro-Trumpian Wall Street Journal editorial page has finally reached its gag level."
Krugman also pointed to The New York Times' report that the Department of Homeland Security bought five aircraft from a firm chaired by a donor to a PAC backing Kristi Noem, on her last day as secretary. One Boeing 737 cost $108 million after the firm had acquired it for less than $90 million, according to the Times. The planes have since sat largely idle. Noem has demanded a retraction, calling the report "libelous."
He also cited Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose family fortune Forbes estimates has more than doubled to about $7.3 billion since he joined the Cabinet, largely through an indirect stake in the crypto firm Tether. Raw Story has reported on a sanctions-evasion scheme involving Iran tied to Lutnick.
Krugman wrote that Trump and his family have collected "billions, possibly close to $10 billion" in personal gain, a figure close to the $9.7 billion upper estimate on a House Oversight Democrats tracker, which, as of January, counted the value of Trump's digital assets to reach that total.
If polls hold and Democrats win Congress, Krugman said, they should put corruption "front and center" of their agenda. He added that they must also "put their own house in order."
