Like a king in his palace, Donald Trump summons people to the White House to accept lavish gifts and flattery. The government of Switzerland had figured out how to play the game, and it’s not exactly subtle that the key to Trump’s heart is gold.
Axios reports:
To cut tariffs President Trump imposed on their country, the Swiss sent a delegation of industry tycoons bearing gifts—a special Rolex desktop clock, a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar, and loads of flattery.
Trump loves such pampering, and the word’s out among nations and companies seeking his favor. Tributes fit for a king—especially gold—catch his eyes and his heart.
The Swiss bar, given to Trump during the delegation’s visit on Nov. 4, was stamped with 45 and 47 in homage to his presidential terms. It’s worth a little more than $130,000. Trump accepted the gifts on behalf of his presidential library, making them legal, White House officials say.
Apple set the tone for such gestures—and raised the bar for them—in August, when CEO Tim Cook gave Trump an engraved glass disc with a 24-karat gold base to commemorate the company’s new $100 billion investment in the U.S. to avoid tariffs.
“It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it,” one administration official told Axios.
These lavish gifts indicate a need to reform the presidential library system so it can’t just be used to launder bribes. They also demonstrate why Congress was given power over tariffs, to prevent what is happening now: the president using his arbitrary power over the American economy to shake down businesses and foreign governments.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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