What did Donald Trump do today?

Bribes.

Trump made news on at least three different fronts related to bribery today, both of himself and others.

The first was the announcement that the cost of his pet "ballroom" project, for which he tore down the East Wing of the White House before he had permission to build anything in its place, had gone up yet again. The figure he has been quoting has steadily risen from $200 million to $250 to $300 and, as of today, to $400 million. But the increase in cost is actually a positive for Trump, whose career in the private sector as a "builder" was more of a cautionary tale than a success story. Trump has been hitting up companies and individuals for "donations" with the implicit threat that he will grant or withhold favors based on their contributions. 

 

The second story was the announcement that another billionaire has announced he will be "donating" money to help fund the so-called "Trump accounts" created by this year's budget bill. Legally required to have Trump's name attached to it, the accounts are essentially a watered-down version of the existing 529 Savings Plan, and one that would actually financially hurt many low-income families to use in spite of it coming with "free" money. Several ultra-wealthy firms and individuals have "volunteered" seed money for the project, not just to buy favor with Trump, but to get a piece of the lucrative business of administering the accounts. 

Finally, in a televised address tonight, Trump made a clumsy attempt at a bribe of his own, announcing a $1,776 bonus for active-duty members of the military. The amount, chosen for its symbolic value rather than what members of the military might actually need, is roughly equivalent to an extra week of pay for a staff sergeant in the Army. A bonus check like that would go a small way toward making up for Trump calling for the smallest military pay raise in four years in his most recent budget.

Trump, a Vietnam-era draft dodger, has always been unpopular with servicemembers, who often lean Republican in their voting patterns. The reaction on military subreddits like r/navy, r/veteransbenefits, and r/militaryfinance to the bonus announcement was, to say the least, not kind. Many posters openly doubted that the money would ever come, while others pointed out that an actual raise for the lower ranks would do more good than a purely symbolic number being given to high-ranking officers. Even posters who were glad to be getting the money understood it as a bribe.

And more rank-and-file servicemembers than Trump is probably comfortable with were aware that Trump was lying about tariff revenue paying for it, or even his legal authority to spend money that had been appropriated for other purposes.
 

Why does this matter?

• No matter how routine it becomes, corruption is still corruption. 

• A president who truly valued "warriors" would do much, much more than try to buy their gratitude with a small one-time check.