Will Donald Trump’s Corruption Matter in November?

The Washington Roundtable weighs in on how Donald Trump’s rampant corruption will play out at the polls. Although conventional wisdom in Washington suggests that graft doesn’t move voters, Democrats have nonetheless spent more than three hundred million dollars on ads that portray the President’s self-enrichment as a tax on everyone else. They are joined by a former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Slaughter, who discusses what, if anything, can be done about corruption in the federal government, and why criminal prosecution may not be the most effective tool to combat it. Slaughter argues that officials must find ways to make corruption costly for those who engage in it. And though few Americans expect the powerful to face consequences, Slaughter says, “the only way to change that impression . . . is to start making people pay.” This week’s reading: “The Dumocrats Are Coming for Trump, and All He Can Do Is Call Them Names,” by Susan B. Glasser “The Battle for the Post-Trump Right,” by Emma Green “The Battle to Pass a Billionaire Tax,” by Nicholas Lemann “In ‘Musk,’ Alex Gibney Punctures Elon’s Self-Mythology,” by Sheelah Kolhatkar “ICE Is Everywhere and Acting with Impunity,” by Jonathan Blitzer “Will Netanyahu Escape His Reckoning?,” by David Remnick The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices