Donald Trump has exposed a weak link in American democracy. It is dependent, as the Founders would put it, on its leaders having a modicum of good character. Benjamin Franklin warned that without strict character requirements, government roles would attract “the bold and the violent,” rather than the wise and peaceful.
Trump’s new financial disclosure forms, released Tuesday, provide only the latest confirmation that the President and his family has gotten richer while he has served as president, stemming from a set of actions that have been brazen, if not illegal.
This Trump family buckraking, as revealed in the new financial disclosure documents from the US Office of Government Ethics and a series of news stories, has stunned a number of observers, including on the conservative side, out of their slumber. The disclosure reads less like the paperwork of a commander in chief, more like the prospectus of a sprawling multinational conglomerate.
The most eye-popping figure comes from cryptocurrency. Trump’s ventures in the digital asset world produced more than $1 billion in income over the past year, helping fuel a breathtaking expansion of his overall fortunes. Taken together with his broader portfolio of businesses and investments, the President reported at least $2.2 billion in income, compared with a minimum of roughly $622 million generated by his enterprises during all of 2024, before returning to office. Estimates of his net worth likewise surged, rising to roughly $4.7 billion from about $2.3 billion a year earlier.
