That, of course, turned out to be a whole bundle of lies. He's actually nowhere near as wealthy as he claims, worth possibly only $150 million and not tens of billions like he says. He also didn't self-fund his campaign.
The biggest lie of all, however, was his claim that no one could buy influence with him. As the investigative journal ProPublica documented in a breaking story yesterday (link here), in exchange for a $25 million donation from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Trump has done a number of favors.
The most brazen ethical breach involved Trump personally lobbying the prime minister of Japan for approval of an Adelson casino license in a private meeting. The PM, Shinzo Abe, was shocked at the brazen attempt to curry favor and politely demurred.
As Adelson's errand boy, Trump has also allowed Adelson to personally shape the United States's policies toward Palestinians and has directed Environmental Protection Agency funds to be diverted into a dubious water project in which Adelson has invested.
Trump also famously and repeatedly promised to "drain the swamp" once he arrived in Washington. That, of course, was another whopping lie. Trump's administration has taken graft and corruption to a new level, making it the swampiest of all time.
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