It has been a tradition that using public office to make money was looked down upon, but it certainly appears that has gone by the wayside.
Blame Harry Truman, the original presidential grifter.
Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
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Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#12It has been a tradition that using public office to make money was looked down upon, but it certainly appears that has gone by the wayside.
in the video he mentions that Trump explained this. "I realized no one cared, and I'm allowed to."
Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#13No, Trump's administration is straight up criminal. The guy has made ~3500 stock trades in the last 3 months, and there's a pattern of him publicly pumping stock by mentioning a company in a tweet or public statement. The problem is, the framers of the Constitution believed the American people would never elect someone so criminal and unfit, so the President is exempt from many criminal laws, including those that wou…
There was also the assumption that Congress would do something. Nixon resigned when he was told that he would likely be impeached. Unfortunately the current Republicans in Congress are completely spineless.
they're not really spineless, they're fully on board with this. This is how they hammer through everything they've been working for, the rest of us be damned.
Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#14Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#15It's usually been 'get elected to the house and make a million on the side, elected to the senate and tens of millions on the side, elected president make a billion'
By 'on the side', I mean things like book deals and at the time legal insider trading. As for making a billion after being elected president in the past it was foundations you've set up and receive donations to, not directly like trump. I think the Clintons were probably the most extreme even taking it I remember a billion dollar donation from Saudi Arabia. But nothing comes even close to trump.
Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#16It has been a tradition that using public office to make money was looked down upon, but it certainly appears that has gone by the wayside.
It's not merely looked down upon: it's illegal.
From Article II, Section 1:
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Trump, on the other hand, openly goes out of his way to cash in on his office, even to the extent of accepting bribes in the form of planes from foreign countries, large donations of foreign and domestic powers via his cryptocurrency, and accepting direct payments for pardons.
I should note that bribery is one of the explicitly mentioned crimes for which impeachment is designed, as mentioned in Article II, Section 4:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#17No, Trump's administration is straight up criminal. The guy has made ~3500 stock trades in the last 3 months, and there's a pattern of him publicly pumping stock by mentioning a company in a tweet or public statement. The problem is, the framers of the Constitution believed the American people would never elect someone so criminal and unfit, so the President is exempt from many criminal laws, including those that wou…
There was also the assumption that Congress would do something. Nixon resigned when he was told that he would likely be impeached. Unfortunately the current Republicans in Congress are completely spineless.
My Boomer mother tells me about the Nixon years. Crazy, but it sounds like some sort of Fantasy World. She says that, originally, Republicans defended Nixon, mostly through attempts to deflect. However, the tapes is what forced Republicans to turn on Nixon. She said it was a combination of doing what's right and self-preservation. She said that back in the Fantasy World days, prosecutors and the courts weren't bound by Party loyalty, and there was chatter of prosecutors going after other Republicans, so they basically just laid it all on Nixon and played dumb.
Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was also the assumption that Congress would do something. Nixon resigned when he was told that he would likely be impeached. Unfortunately the current Republicans in Congress are completely spineless.
they're not really spineless, they're fully on board with this. This is how they hammer through everything they've been working for, the rest of us be damned.
I think it depends on the individual. There are plenty who earlier warned about how terrible Trump was, then once he was elected jumped on the bandwagon.
Re: Do U.S. Presidents Always Make This Much Money? [video]
#19It has been a tradition that using public office to make money was looked down upon, but it certainly appears that has gone by the wayside.
It's not merely looked down upon: it's illegal. From Article II, Section 1: The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. The President is not allowed to accept any compensation…
Unfortunately the president is in charge of the Justice department which investigates federal crimes.