✍️ Leading from Behind — and Cashing In
When loyalty becomes currency, democracy pays the price
Many people still cheering Trump aren’t naïve. Polls this year show that nearly half of college-educated Republican voters continue to back him. The rest have fractured—some uneasy moderates, others simply checked out.
His supporters know his record—the court cases, the chaos, the boasts—but they also know he gets things done for those who stay close.
Some call that leading from behind. Others call it kissing his behind.
They don’t have to shout their loyalty; a wink and a well-timed compliment will do. From there, they can nudge policy and shape deals, whispering ideas the boss later repeats as his own. Some of them make fortunes.
I’ve been trying to understand how so many informed, experienced people keep doing it. Their loyalty isn’t always about Trump’s ideas; it’s about his power to capture attention, intimidate critics, command fear, reward friends, and make deals.
Those skills open doors for them. For people who want the government to deregulate, privatize, or favor certain industries, staying loyal can be a profitable strategy.
Take Jared Kushner, the most obvious case. After he left the administration, his private-equity firm received a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. And that happened despite internal warnings from the fund’s advisers that his team had little experience in global finance, according to The New York Times.
News media report that he continues to act as an informal envoy on Middle East issues while courting new business with the same governments. His access is his asset.
Others profit with less publicity.
Brian Ballard, a longtime Republican fundraiser, built his firm Ballard Partners into one of Washington’s most lucrative lobbying shops during Trump’s first term.
ProPublica and ABC News found that his client list quadrupled as corporations—from tech giants to sports leagues—paid for a line into the administration. After Trump returned to office, the firm’s revenue spiked again. Loyalty has been a sound business model.
And then there’s Marc Kasowitz, Trump’s personal attorney for decades. His firm gained new corporate clients after he became known as “Trump’s lawyer.” For companies wanting counsel with presidential access, that connection was gold. The money flowed whether or not the cases touched government at all.
To be fair, proximity to power isn’t a Trump invention. Every administration attracts insiders who mix public service with private gain. Democrats have had donors turned ambassadors; Republicans have had lobbyists cycling in and out of government.
But Trump made the transaction open. Loyalty is his currency. Betrayal carries a price; it’s grounds for exile … or prosecution. Trump treats the government like a business he owns—and rewards those who keep the profits flowing.
That approach blurs the boundary between public duty and private deal. The conservative ideal of “small government” morphs into pliable government—one that shields favored industries from oversight while handing out contracts and tax breaks to insiders.
An ally might call it efficiency; a watchdog would call it self-dealing. Either way, it leaves the public holding the bill.
The damage doesn’t stop with the loyalists. When access becomes the measure of influence, the entire system tilts:
Policy becomes payback. Environmental and financial rules get rolled back not because data support it but because donors ask. ProPublica counted more than 280 lobbyists serving inside the Trump administration during his first term—an extraordinary overlap between regulated and regulator.
Competence erodes. Experienced public servants resign or are fired. They’re replaced by loyalists whose main skill is saying yes.
Accountability blurs. Ethics officers and inspectors general are weakened or ignored. Citizens can’t tell where public interest ends and private enrichment begins.
Public trust collapses. Pew Research Center finds confidence in the federal government near historic lows. Only about 16 percent of Americans say they trust Washington to do what’s right most of the time.
This isn’t just a partisan problem; it’s a governance problem. When political loyalty becomes a business asset, government turns into a marketplace where access is for sale. The cost is measured in lost faith, distorted policy, and drained institutions.
Some analysts call Trump’s method transactional populism. It claims to fight the establishment but ends up building a new one—made of flatterers, donors, and deal-makers. They don’t need ideology when they have invoices.
I’m just one observer trying to connect the dots between what we see and what we lose. Government isn’t supposed to run like a private company—because in business the goal is profit.
In government, the goal should be service through fairness and competence—rules written in public view, contracts awarded by merit, and decisions made for the common good. When those motives mix, the state becomes a brand, and the citizens become customers who can’t walk away.
So, what do we do about it? A few modest steps matter more than cynicism:
Follow the money. Use tools like OpenSecrets, ProPublica’s politics and accountability reporting, and NewsGuard to trace who funds whom.
Support transparency. Subscribe to credible media and the watchdog groups listed below that reveal financial and ethical ties.
Ask your representatives—of any party—where they stand on lobbying disclosure, conflict-of-interest laws, and the revolving door between government and business.
Vote like shareholders of democracy. Demand returns measured in public trust, not private profit.
Trump has turned loyalty politics into a loyalty economy. He runs the government as a personal enterprise with his name on the door. And his followers take notes.
The rest of us are investors whether we like it or not—which means we have every right, and every duty, to audit the books.
Resources for Advocacy
To dig deeper, explore these ranked guides highlighting groups working to rebuild accountability and honest government.
Good Government, Justice & Transparency
A ranked guide to advocacy groups strengthening democracy and accountability in public lifeCorruption, Ethics & Accountability in Government
A ranked guide to organizations exposing corruption and fighting for clean government.Executive Overreach & Abuse of Power
A ranked guide to organizations resisting authoritarianism and defending democratic norms.
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