As Donald Trump’s current stay in the White House progresses, it occurs to me that it may not be the fascist rhetoric, the threats to the free press, or even the open admiration for dictators that finally ends Donald Trump’s grip on American power. It might be something far more banal, though equally insidious: corruption. History is littered with authoritarian leaders brought down not by ideology, but by the weight of their own greed. Trump’s corruption, personal, political, and financial, may yet be the Achilles’ heel in an otherwise resilient strongman persona.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has escalated his efforts to consolidate power and reward loyalty through means that blur ethical, legal, and constitutional lines. One of his first acts was to reinstate and expand Schedule F, effectively stripping civil service protections from tens of thousands of federal workers, allowing him to purge career professionals and install political allies. This move, long championed by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, undermines the independence of federal agencies and places ideology above competence.
Trump’s new administration has aggressively targeted federal prosecutors, replacing U.S. attorneys with loyalists and launching internal reviews of cases involving his associates. This includes efforts to halt investigations into January 6-related offenses and dismiss federal indictments related to his previous obstruction of justice charges. A Department of Justice memo issued in February 2025 redefined prosecutorial discretion in a way that has alarmed legal experts nationwide.
Financially, Trump’s second term has resurrected the emoluments controversy with a vengeance. Foreign governments and domestic lobbyists are once again funneling money into Trump properties. In March, the Saudi government held a lavish energy conference at Trump’s Doral resort, while a Qatari trade delegation booked the entirety of his Washington hotel. Meanwhile, Trump’s children, reinstated as key White House advisors, have seen explosive growth in their private investment portfolios, including in deregulated cryptocurrency markets that Trump’s administration has aggressively cleared of regulatory oversight.
A sweeping pardon spree in early 2025 absolved dozens of January 6 rioters and Trump loyalists convicted of federal crimes. Among them were former military officers and Proud Boys members now running for office or returning to militia organizing with a renewed sense of impunity. The president celebrated these individuals at a White House rally, calling them "patriots who stood for election integrity." Their political rehabilitation signals a normalization of anti-democratic violence.
Trump’s Treasury Department has also gutted financial crime enforcement. The FinCEN agency has reportedly closed or shelved hundreds of cases tied to money laundering and foreign corruption. A recently leaked memo instructed staff to prioritize cases involving "foreign hostile entities" over those involving domestic political allies or U.S.-based conglomerates.
In April 2025, the administration proposed revisions to the federal conflict of interest laws that would allow sitting presidents and their families to maintain active business holdings without disclosure. This proposal, condemned by ethics watchdogs, would effectively legalize the grift that previously drew bipartisan outrage.
Why does this matter more than Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric? Because corruption fractures coalitions. His base may remain loyal, but big donors, corporate stakeholders, and foreign governments base their support on returns. When the machinery of government becomes a personal cash register and a shield for criminal allies, it creates long-term instability. No elite power network wants to be attached to a sinking ship of graft.
History reminds us that authoritarian regimes rarely collapse due to moral awakening. It’s corruption, the rot beneath the throne, that ultimately weakens the foundations. Richard Nixon’s resignation wasn’t about Vietnam or ideology, but the cover-up of political crimes. Ferdinand Marcos wasn’t toppled for declaring martial law, but because he looted billions while the Philippine economy collapsed.
Even Benito Mussolini, once hailed by Italian elites, was eventually abandoned by them when his mismanagement and greed led to military defeat and public outrage. Trump, with his accelerating abuse of public resources and his family’s self-enrichment, is heading down a similar path.
We are already seeing cracks. Wall Street has grown jittery over Trump’s unpredictable tariff declarations and regulatory favoritism. His reciprocal tariffs on China and the EU have triggered global trade retaliation, while domestic inflation has surged. Business leaders who once backed him are increasingly speaking off the record about the danger of long-term instability.
Corruption also galvanizes institutional resistance. Even in a compromised system, whistleblowers, journalists, and lower-level bureaucrats continue to leak documents, file lawsuits, and resist quietly. Trump’s regime, like those before it, may choke off public dissent, but the truth has a way of leaking out, especially when it follows a money trail.
Of course, none of this guarantees Trump’s downfall. If the courts are stacked, if Congress cowers, and if the public shrugs, corruption can become normalized. But it remains the most potent weapon against authoritarianism because it speaks the language of accountability, fraud, embezzlement, self-dealing. Crimes that even the most loyal enabler may hesitate to defend when they’re under oath.
Trump may well survive a second term legally, but not reputationally. The longer he governs through corruption, the more brittle his legacy becomes. History is clear that, when corruption outweighs utility, the powerful look for an exit. And when they do, even the loudest demagogue can find himself alone, buried beneath the rubble of his own making.
And in that downfall, if it comes, not from a righteous public awakening, but from the quiet math of greed and decay, we may find the irony of justice fulfilled.
Disclaimer: Jim Powers writes Opinion Columns. The views expressed in this editorial are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Polk County Publishing Company or its affiliates. In the interest of transparency, I am politically Left Libertarian.
