Donald Trump the real estate mogul. Donald Trump the entertainer. Donald Trump the deal-maker. Donald Trump the salesman. All of these unique components of an intriguing man have one thing in common. They have always embodied the principles of cronyism.
This is notably funny to anyone who has had extended conversations with multiple Trump supporters. I usually end up conversing with one or two new ones every day. It’s funny because invariably they point to the concepts of fighting cronyism as being one of the reasons they support Trump. In some cases, they simply don’t understand the nature of cronyism in business and entertainment, let alone in Washington DC. In other cases, they’re blinded to the distinct use of cronyism that has been a part of Trump’s entire professional life.
The last group is the hardest to understand. They represent the people who believe that because Trump is rich that he would never participate in cronyism as President. This idea doesn’t make me laugh at all. It’s not funny. It fills me with sadness to realize that so many in the Republican party can be so blind to how cronyism works in Washington DC.
It Has Nothing to Do with Money
Trump can’t be bought. That much is true. He’s a billionaire. Nobody can waive a bribe in front of him and have a hope of it affecting his policy decisions.
Unfortunately, money is not what drives the majority of cronyism in Washington DC. Support, endorsements, political favors, and promises of powerful assistance in one for or another are the capital in the game of cronyism in Washington DC. What most people see as cronyism is actually corruption at a local or state level. They hear of bribes. They hear about somebody’s cousin getting a contract from the state. They hear about free vacations on somebody’s private jet. This is what they see as cronyism.
The reality is that this type of cronyism affects local, city, and state governments. It can reach to the national scale with corrupt power brokers or even the occasional Congressman or Senator, but that’s not how it works for the President of the United States. The President doesn’t take bribes. They do, however, have to pay back favors.
Donald Trump thrives on the economy of favors. He has participated more than any other candidate with the likely exception of Hillary Clinton in the use of cronyism to get what he wants out of politicians. They, in turn, have reciprocated by gathering favors owed to them. Trump and Clinton both represent the type of corrupt cronyism that has plagued this and every country since the formation of organized government.
The very nature of his various business ventures demonstrate that he is adept at cronyism. One does not build and leverage the type of brand that he has without the extreme use of cronyism in its most political sense. He’s owed and he owes. It’s what he knows and it works.
Supporting Trump Expands Cronyism
If you are looking for someone who is shrewd with his or her use of cronyism, you can look at Trump and Clinton as your candidates. If you want to see what that looks like in practice, you can look at Presidents like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Richard Nixon, all of whom have been masters of the art. In the case of Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, it could be demonstrated that they both represented the gold standard for Presidential cronyism, but they would both be eclipsed by either Trump or Hillary Clinton.
Two prime examples of Presidents who fought cronyism and walked their own paths accordingly were Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. One can argue that Kennedy might not have been assassinated had he played ball in the name of cronyism.
Ted Cruz listed four examples of modern day cronyism in Washington DC.
Ted Cruz’s Four Examples of Cronyism in Washington https://t.co/3YP7gh8K0E http://pic.twitter.com/3DyvbfHGHh
— Ruth Shields (@anchorwomen) December 29, 2015
If you support Trump, that’s your prerogative. Just don’t say that you support him because you’re against cronyism in DC. Such a claim is like supporting Barack Obama because you’re against illegal immigration. Both would be ignorant.
Donald Trump, The Ultimate Crony Capitalist https://t.co/Po3Q3SNmVQ
— Prax (@Prax027) December 1, 2015
via Soshable http://ift.tt/1PtRqoe
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