As the chart above shows (from the New York Times), Donald Trump has business interest in many countries around the world, and many of those countries are critical to the interests of the United States. This might not be so bad if Trump would sell off all of those business interests before he is sworn in as the president.
Unfortunately, he has, at least so far, refused to do that. He has not placed his holdings in a blind trust (as other presidents and government officials have done in the past). Instead, he has said he will place his children in charge of those business interests, and inferred to the New York Times that he may even retain control of some or all of those business interests.
This means that every decision he makes as president could affect his own business interests, and will pose the question each time -- was Trump's action to further the best interests of the United States, or to make himself and his family even richer than they already are? The answers will be important, because what's good for the United States will not always be what is good for Trump and his family's businesses.
Unfortunately, it looks like that corruption may have already started. The Argentine newspaper La Nacion reports that when the Argentine president called Trump to congratulate him on winning the presidency, Trump asked him to clear the way for permits he needs to build a new hotel in Buenos Aires. Those permits have now been granted. Corruption? It certainly looks like it.
The definition of government corruption is to use a government held position to enrich yourself or your friends and family -- and that seems to be exactly what Trump has done (even before being sworn in). And that's not the only instance. Rumor has it that Trump made the same kind of requests when called by the leaders of Great Britain and India.
Trump's refusal to divest his business interests or put them in a true blind trust should trouble all Americans. That refusal has the Trump administration poised to become the most corrupt administration in the history of this country.
