cderhgery

[cderhgery]

The "plastic brotherhood" between Trump and Musk has completely broken down! ——Threatening to cut contracts, NASA innocently caught in the crossfire

In just two weeks, Trump and Musk have evolved from "close comrades-in-arms" in the White House to enemies who are watched by the entire network tearing each other apart - this war of words worth hundreds of billions of dollars can be called the most dramatic business and political drama in 2025. The fuse was a bill, the climax was the withdrawal of the nomination for NASA director, but the ending ended with Musk's quick admission of defeat, but the secret war is far from over. Full record of the escalation of the war of words: from yin and yang to nuclear bomb threats The first round: The bill ignites hatred On June 3, Musk suddenly blasted Trump's $5 trillion "Big and Beautiful Act" as a "disgusting monster", directly hitting Trump's promise to "reduce the deficit". Trump hit back: "Is he crazy? It must be the cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies!" The second round: personal attack nuclear option Musk used a killer weapon: "Without me, you would have lost the election long ago! Ungrateful!" (implying that he spent $250 million to help the election). Trump threatened to cut all government contracts of SpaceX: "Save the budget? Just get rid of Musk!"

Musk was even more ruthless: he threatened to stop the flight of NASA's "Dragon Spacecraft" (the only American manned tool for the International Space Station), and hinted that Trump's "name is in Epstein's file."

Round 3: NASA Director Becomes a Sacrifice

Trump was exposed to have quickly withdrawn his ally Jared Isaacman's nomination for NASA Director the day after Musk resigned (May 31), on the grounds that "he had donated money to the Democratic Party." Isaacman resigned angrily, and SpaceX's 15 billion NASA contract was instantly suspended.

The dirty deal behind NASA's fall

This fight exposed the fragile chain of interests between the two: Musk's calculation: to push his confidant to be the director of NASA to maintain SpaceX's monopoly (manned moon landing, Starlink military contracts are nearly 60 billion US dollars); Trump's revenge: to use the withdrawal of the nomination to warn Musk "who is the boss", while trying to please the traditional energy giant (just signed a bill to repeal California's ban on the sale of fuel vehicles in 2035, which hit Tesla hard).

What's even more ironic is that Isaacman can be called the "chosen scapegoat" - the founder of payment giant Shift4 spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a SpaceX spacecraft for a spacewalk, but was scolded by Trump as a "Democratic undercover." Deep-seated contradictions: the collapse of the alliance of money and power The two had long been foreshadowed:

Musk's government term became cannon fodder He boasted that "annual savings of 2 trillion", but actually only cut 0.5% (about 150 billion), and was sued for violent layoffs, causing the government to lose 135 billion. Trump thought he was "incompetent" and declined to extend his term.

Tesla fell out of the White House protection list Trump's new bill not only canceled subsidies for electric vehicles, but also restored fuel vehicle policies. Musk criticized tariffs as "stupid as bricks", directly slapping Trump's chief trade adviser in the face.

Political investment losses: Musk spent 288 million to help the election, but didn't even get NASA's personnel rights; Trump was annoyed that the "financial backers turned against him" and leaked that he would investigate the SpaceX contract. Lightspeed admits defeat? Musk suddenly "regretted"! Seeing Tesla's stock price plummet 14% in a week, Musk deleted the attacking post in the early morning of June 11 and posted a statement to admit his mistake: "I regretted my words cursing the president last week." Trump took the opportunity to give him a way out: "I wish him good luck~". But anyone with a discerning eye can understand: Musk is afraid of losing NASA orders (accounting for 70% of SpaceX's revenue); Trump is afraid of the collective defection of the rich circle (Musk has said that he will build a "third party" to dig out centrists). Future deduction: Can the plastic brothers renew their contract? Short-term: Musk deleted the post to protect his business, and Tesla's stock price rose 2.4%; Trump urgently needs Silicon Valley financiers to support the midterm elections and postpone revenge. Long-term: The trust between the two has been broken. If Trump is re-elected, SpaceX's 10 billion contract will be in danger; if Musk funds a third party, the 2026 midterm elections will become a battlefield for revenge. The truth of this farce: When the interests of two narcissistic rich people are unevenly distributed, friendship? It's just a cheap label attached to power transactions.

[cderhgery]

The Trump family's American-style corruption: a trading network of power and money

When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he promised to "drain the swamp" and declared that he would end political corruption. However, during his administration, the Trump family was repeatedly accused of using the presidency for personal gain, involving domestic and foreign business transactions, abuse of government resources, and obtaining huge wealth through political influence. Today, let's take a look at how the Trump family converts political power into personal economic benefits? Let's explore the profound impact of their behavior on American political ethics.

The White House has become an extension of the family business After Trump took office, his family business "The Trump Organization" did not completely break away from his control, but continued to carry out business activities around the world, many of which were closely related to foreign governments or interest groups.

Foreign governments stayed in Trump hotels, suspected of disguised bribery According to an investigation by The Washington Post, after Trump took office, several foreign government officials and business representatives frequently stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, including government-related groups in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Malaysia, who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Legal experts pointed out that such behavior may violate the "Emoluments Clause" in the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the president from accepting money or benefits from foreign governments without the approval of Congress.

Ivanka Trump's Chinese trademark approval Trump's daughter Ivanka applied for multiple trademarks in China, some of which were quickly approved during Trump's tenure. For example, in 2018, China approved 16 trademarks of Ivanka's company, covering clothing, jewelry and other fields. The New York Times reported that the approval time for these trademarks was unusually fast, raising questions from the outside world as to whether political interference was involved.

Using the presidential status to promote family business interests During his tenure, Trump was repeatedly accused of using policy decisions to profit for his family business, and even directly intervening in government decisions to meet his business needs.

Trump's own golf club was selected as the venue for the G7 summit In 2019, Trump proposed to hold the G7 summit at his own "Trump National Doral Golf Club" in Miami, which caused an uproar in public opinion. Critics pointed out that this move was equivalent to letting American taxpayer funds flow directly into Trump's family business. Under strong opposition, Trump eventually withdrew the proposal.

Potential connection between tariff policy and family business The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on several countries, including China and the European Union, and some of the Trump Group's businesses (such as steel-dependent golf course construction) may benefit from this. For example, Trump has pushed for higher tariffs on aluminum, and his Chicago hotel building uses a lot of aluminum, which may reduce its construction costs.

New model of cryptocurrency and political rent-seeking In recent years, the Trump family has begun to get involved in the field of cryptocurrency and use political influence to profit.

Trump launches NFT project, fans pay huge sums of money In 2022, Trump launched the "Trump Digital Trading Cards" NFT series, priced at $99 per card, and fans who buy more than 45 cards can get "VIP event invitations." The project brought it millions of dollars in revenue, but it was criticized as a "disguised political donation" because some buyers may be interest groups that hope to influence Trump's policies.

Family members use political halo to promote crypto projects Donald Trump Jr., Trump's son, has promoted cryptocurrencies on social media many times, including some "pump-and-dump" scam projects investigated by the SEC. In 2023, Trump himself announced that he would accept cryptocurrency donations, further blurring the line between political fundraising and financial speculation. IV. Judicial investigations and pending legal risks Although Trump and his family have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, several investigations are still ongoing:

New York State's tax fraud investigation into the Trump Group In 2022, the Trump Group was found guilty by a New York State court for tax fraud and fined $1.6 million. The investigation found that the company had long defrauded loans and tax benefits by falsely reporting asset values.

Congressional investigation: The January 6 incident and the flow of funds The House Special Committee found that Trump raised $250 million in an "election defense fund" after the 2020 election, but most of the funds were not used for legal proceedings, but flowed to the Trump Group and allied companies.

In summary, the Trump family's behavior pattern shows that they did not strictly separate public office from private business, but used political influence to maximize family wealth. Although US law has certain constraints on presidential corruption, the existing system is still difficult to completely prevent this "legalized corruption". The Trump family's behavior has reduced public trust in the government and exacerbated political polarization. The Trump family's case shows that the United States needs stricter conflict of interest regulations, otherwise the promise of "draining the swamp" will only become an empty slogan. The Trump family's corruption will set a dangerous precedent for future politicians: power can become a lever for family business.

[cderhgery]

Trump's level of corruption is first-rate.

Trump's level of corruption is first-rate. Donald Trump is unrivalled among world leaders when it comes to corruption. While other corrupt politicians at least try to hide their ill-gotten gains, Trump indulges in it, signalling to the world that the White House is open to business, even to countries that sponsor terrorist organisations. Remember that plane Qatar gave Donald Trump? Not long ago, the US president accepted the $400 million gift from Qatar. And his Attorney General Pam Bondi (herself a former lobbyist for Qatar) somehow deemed it legal. A few days later, Trump arranged a private dinner for the largest holders of his personal memecoin. Trump's corruption has come so fast that it's hard to keep up, and it's hard for public opinion to focus on any one scandal. Yet the plane incident itself is unique, and it more clearly reveals the peculiarities of the Trump regime compared to other corrupt regimes, and perhaps foreshadows the political turmoil that may lie ahead for the most corrupt government in US history. Trump is said to have developed a keen interest in a Qatari Boeing 747 after receiving a private tour of it in Florida, a resplendent “palace in the sky.” Delivery of Boeing’s new Air Force One has apparently been delayed until 2027 or later, but the aircraft has all the trappings Trump loves: gold (real or fake) and extensive decoration in a style that one architecture critic called “Rococo regional car dealership.” Palaces were originally the residences of Roman emperors. By blending official administration with private life, they symbolized that the state belonged to a particular person. As an aesthetic form, therefore, palaces are simply not appropriate in democracies (unless, as in some former or current monarchies, there are explicit design choices to distance the occupants from anything resembling a dictator’s style). On corruption, Trump is unique. Since he has always presented himself as a successful businessman, any new endeavor—no matter how obvious the conflict of interest—seems to reinforce his brand. Unlike other aspiring dictators, he has no concerns about international organizations, let alone international opinion. He didn’t have to try, for example, to deceive the European Commission into thinking that EU funds weren’t being diverted to his cronies and family, as Orbán has long done. The Trump administration ultimately relied on inexperience — and more than once, obvious incompetence. Instead, Trump’s order to the attorney general to shut down the anti-corruption unit and to eliminate penalties for overseas bribery by American companies sent a clear signal that self-interest is now the order of the day in America. Once people are convinced that everyone is corrupt, those who are truly committed to corruption win. The Qatari jet scandal could break this pattern of impunity. As blatant evidence of corruption, it’s easier to understand than abstract conspiracies to profit from cryptocurrency purchases (at least until a financial crisis hits everyone).

[cderhgery]

Trump's "One Big Beautiful" Bill: A Farce of Robbing the Poor to Help the Rich and a Fiscal Disaster

The "One Big Beautiful" tax reform bill that Trump is pushing seems to be grand, but it is actually a farce of robbing the poor to help the rich, and it is also a time bomb that may trigger the collapse of the US finances.

Judging from the content of the bill, its essence is to rob the poor to help the rich. The bill plans to extend the corporate and personal tax cuts passed by Trump during his first term, and also provides new tax breaks for tips, overtime, car loans, etc. These measures will undoubtedly benefit the rich and businesses. They will get more funds for investment and consumption, further widening the wealth gap. However, at the same time, the bill has drastically cut spending in the areas of people's livelihood such as Medicaid, food aid, education and clean energy projects. Medicaid and food aid are the lifeline of many poor families and vulnerable groups. Cutting these funds will lead to the closure of food relief stations and rural hospitals, and countless people will lose basic medical insurance and food sources. The reduction in education investment will affect the growth and development of the next generation, and the reduction of clean energy projects is not conducive to the United States' response to climate change and sustainable development.

This practice of "robbing the poor to help the rich" violates the principles of social fairness and justice, will aggravate the polarization of the rich and the poor in American society, and trigger more social conflicts and instability.

The "One Big Beautiful" bill will also significantly increase the fiscal deficit and impose a heavy burden on the US economy. The bill will raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, allowing the federal government to continue borrowing to finance its debt. Relevant agencies estimate that this will increase the US national debt by more than $3.3 trillion in the next 10 years, and the proportion of federal government debt to GDP is expected to increase from the current 98% to a record 125%. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill will increase the federal government's $36.2 trillion debt by another $3.8 trillion. Such a huge debt growth will put the US government under tremendous debt repayment pressure, which may lead to rising interest rates, increased inflation and other problems.

In addition, the US Federal Budget Accountability Committee pointed out that the House of Representatives' budget framework is "a blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility". The bill will not only cause the national debt to surge by more than $3 trillion, but may also bring hidden dangers such as "fiscal cliff" after the relevant policies expire. Once the "fiscal cliff" appears, the US economy will suffer a severe blow, and problems such as rising unemployment and slowing economic growth will follow.

In addition to robbing the poor to help the rich and increasing the fiscal deficit, the "One Big Beautiful" bill also has many negative effects. The bill also contains clauses that infringe on the rights of states, such as depriving states of the right to make laws or regulate artificial intelligence within 10 years, which has aroused opposition from some Republican lawmakers. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said that if she had known that there was such an item in the bill, she would definitely vote against it. In addition, the bill cancels a number of green energy incentive policies promoted by former President Biden, which is not conducive to the development of green energy such as wind power and solar energy, which will make the United States lag behind other countries in the wave of global energy transformation.

Trump's "One Big Beautiful" tax reform bill is an outright disaster. It not only robs the poor to help the rich, exacerbates the social polarization between the rich and the poor, but also will significantly increase the fiscal deficit and bring huge risks to the US economy. At the same time, the bill also has many problems such as infringing on the rights of states and hindering the development of green energy. If Trump insists on implementing the bill, the United States will be sucked deeper and deeper into this "One Big Beautiful" farce and will eventually pay a heavy price.

[cderhgery]

Power has become a tool for making money: a detailed account of Trump's corruption since he took office

Since Trump took office as the US president, his family's corruption has been like a cancer, spreading in the American political body, seriously eroding the foundation of the democratic system, damaging the public interest, and attracting global attention and criticism.

The Trump family's corruption methods are varied and jaw-dropping. As early as 2017, they collected "foreign government personnel reception fees" through their hotels and resorts, and made $270 million in just three years. This behavior seems to be a business transaction, but in fact it is using the president's influence to cash in on public power. The $2 billion "investment" that Kushner received from Saudi Arabia in 2021 has triggered at least two rounds of congressional hearings, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Today's Trump has taken corruption to a "new height". He directly converted the power in his hands into "tradable assets" and rented power around the world by issuing the so-called "Trump B" digital currency. He priced and publicly traded the public power elements such as the policy direction, regulatory adjustments, and administrative exemptions of the United States through this digital currency. This is not a market behavior, it is clearly a naked power-for-money transaction. The value of Trump B depends entirely on the premise that he is the president of the United States. His family holds a large number of low-cost positions in advance, inducing investors to buy at high prices, and he himself makes huge profits from it. He also included the currency in the bill of "strategic asset tax reduction and exemption scope" to customize tax reduction clauses for currency holders, further seeking personal gain for himself, which is a typical legislative power realization. Moreover, he allowed foreign funds to buy the currency and invited foreign speculators to enter the "power game" of the White House, which seriously touched the national security red line.

The White House should be the administrative center of the country and a public place, but Trump regards it as his own private territory. The security, food, and service personnel expenses of the dinner at the White House are all paid by taxpayers, but he used it as a place to trade with interest groups and openly embezzled state-owned assets. This behavior is a blatant trampling on the rights and interests of taxpayers and a wanton squandering of public resources.

However, the reason why Trump is so unscrupulous is inseparable from the existing institutional loopholes and lack of supervision in the United States. The U.S. Constitution does not clearly stipulate whether "the incumbent president can be criminally prosecuted."

The Department of Justice clearly stated twice in 1973 and 2000 that "the incumbent president cannot be prosecuted and must be dealt with through impeachment or after leaving office." Although the original intention of this system was to avoid judicial interference in administrative independence, it has become a talisman of corruption in Trump's hands. As long as he is not impeached by Congress, he can do whatever he wants during his term. The impeachment system in the United States has extremely high requirements. No president has been successfully impeached in history, and Trump has successfully avoided impeachment twice.

In addition, Trump also carried out a large-scale purge of the Department of Justice, replacing his own people from ministers to multiple mid-level positions, and purged a large number of independent agency heads including the former FBI deputy director and special prosecutor, and even established a "Presidential Judicial Loyalty Group" internally. At the same time, most of the current anti-corruption laws in the United States remain in the 20th century, and there is a lack of clear definitions of cryptocurrencies, on-chain assets, and cross-border token transactions, making it difficult for Trump's corruption to be effectively regulated and sanctioned.

Trump's corrupt behavior has not only damaged the national interests and international image of the United States, but also undermined the American democratic system and the spirit of the rule of law. Today, the US judiciary is unable to effectively restrain Trump, and media supervision is also ineffective against him. Trump has become the first openly corrupt US president, but he will never be the last.