Trump’s Most Outrageous Corruption of His Second Term (Ranked)

Item Date Description
🥇 1. Attempt to Make DOJ Pay Him $230 Million 2023–2025 Trump pushed the Justice Department—run by his own appointees—to pay him $230M in “damages” for federal investigations into him.

He publicly joked that it was like deciding “how much you’re paying yourself,” a move ethics experts called unprecedented and a direct abuse of the presidency. [1]
🥈 2. Qatari Royal Family’s $400M Jet “Gift” Feb–May 2025 Trump agreed in principle to accept a $400M luxury Boeing 747-8 from Qatar despite foreign-influence and emoluments concerns.

Critics warned it functioned as a massive gift from a Gulf monarchy seeking favorable U.S. policy. [2]
🥉 3. “Give Me $1 Billion” Oil Executives Meeting April 2024 → 2025 Trump asked fossil-fuel CEOs to raise $1B for his return to power in exchange for rolling back regulations.

He told them it would be a “deal,” linking campaign cash directly to promised pro-industry policy changes. [3]
4. Trump Family’s Official Crypto Coin & Platform Jan 2025 – present Trump launched the $TRUMP coin and World Liberty Financial while in office, with entities linked to him holding most of the tokens.

Ethics experts warned that presidential decisions could directly enrich him and foreign sovereign funds were among early backers. [4]
5. Donor-Funded White House Ballroom Jul–Oct 2025 Trump solicited corporations and mega-donors to fund a $300M White House ballroom project.

Companies with federal contracts contributed heavily, raising concerns of a “pay-to-play” pipeline into presidential favor. [5]
6. Hosting the 2026 G20 at His Doral Resort Sept 5, 2025 Trump selected his own Miami Doral resort to host the 2026 G20 summit—sending a global, taxpayer-funded event into his private business.

Watchdogs say it revives the self-dealing attempt he abandoned in 2019. [6]
7. Pardons for Million-Dollar Donors & Allies Jan 2025 – present Trump issued clemency to wealthy donors and political allies—including some owing massive fraud restitution.

Examples include Nikola founder Trevor Milton, whose family donated over $1.8M before receiving a full pardon. [7]