The Boston Globe, “Trump ran against family political dynasties, and then built his own”:
Trump’s enemies are having a field day, gleefully painting him as hypocritical for failing to “drain the swamp’” of Washington influence as he promised during the campaign. Instead, they argue, he has elevated family members at the expense of public-service experience and adherence to strict ethical standards. He also has blurred the lines between his family real estate empire and White House roles by failing to completely disentangle his financial interests.
“Make no mistake: This is not normal for representative democracies,” said Leah McElrath, a former Washington communications strategist who now writes for a liberal website, ShareBlue. “This kind of nepotism and familial surrogacy is completely normal in authoritarian regimes.’”
The question is not whether a political system is rigged. All political systems are rigged in their own way. The Kennedys, the Clintons, and the Bushes, and the revolving doors between the FCC and the cable companies, and the SEC and the big banks are all evidence of that. The only question is whether or not a person agrees with how and why a political system is rigged. The fact that those who railed against the Clinton’s could rig the system are now silent on how the Trump’s are actually rigging is proof of that. The Trumps are (in)arguably worse than any other political family in at least recent history when it comes to rigging the system to their benefit. One of the key differences with the Trumps is that they have no discretion; they flaunt it and don’t care what anybody thinks. Whether or not someone is okay with Trump’s rigging likely aligns closely with their political identity. People should call it out for the bullshit that it is, especially as blatant as the Trumps are.