Almost every problem the United States is experiencing as a result of the second Trump presidency is derivative of the underlying problem of corruption. Self interest before public interest has contaminated nearly every significant decision Donald Trump and his entire entourage have made since Inauguration Day.

In the run-up to a major federal election political analysis ramps up significantly. Much of that analysis is based on historic patterns. E.g., previous midterm elections, previous presidential polls, voter polls and general trends that predict outcomes. All of which can be useful in normal times, but these are not normal times.

How do you calculate the effect of a President of the United States who appears to be an asset of hostile foreign power, the Russian Federation? What impact does starting a war without congressional approval that has driven fuel prices to historic levels have on voter sentiment? How do you calculate the effect on public opinion of President whose personal net worth has increased by billions of dollars in the roughly 22 months since he was sworn in? How do you calculate the effect on an election of a presidential administration that has gutted the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Pentagon and practically every government agency of note. The tariffs, the destruction of the East Wing of the White House, the Epstein files? How do you quantify that? All of that is obviously a just a small subset of disastrous mayhem surrounding this White House.

What should the democrats run on in the closing days of the midterm campaign? Run on the jail-break of corruption spiraling out of control in the Oval Office. The Republicans enabled it and excused it at every stage, until it was too late. Now the American people are paying for it. The cost of living crisis is a corruption crisis. It is of course the corrupt acts that are causing the cost of living to skyrocket.

It is tempting to try to compare the acts of corruption this White House is engaged in to former presidential administrations. Again it’s nearly impossible to do that, not just because there has never been anything like it ever, there hasn’t, but also because of the sheer enormity of of what is unfolding. There becomes a tendency to lose the snowflakes in the storm. It’s so bad the material effect has been an immediate economic downturn that the public is reeling from less than two years into Trump’s second term.

There is nothing new about a President of United states being called a tyrant. Nearly every President in US history at one point or another in their tenure was called a tyrant for attempting to implement policies their opposition did not like. In retrospect that may have been a disservice because a very real tyrant has now taken power and knows no boundaries.

It is that tyranny that creates fertile ground for the corrupt acts that enrich him. If he cannot be challenged he can continue to take the wealth of the nation for his own pleasure. That is why Trump tries to destroy anyone that challenges his authority. A challenge to his authority is a challenge to his self enrichment operation. The public interest no longer exists at the federal level. It has been replaced by the personal enrichment interest of one man, Donald John Trump.

The corruption of the Trump operation is not just the most compelling issue of this election cycle it is the greatest challenge to the Constitution of the United States that has ever existed. Sure it’s ostensibly safer and easier for Democratic candidates to run on the cost of living in a limited sense. The cost of living is certainly out of control and yes people are outraged. But to ignore the underlying cause, the corruption ensures the failure of the cure.

The nation is adrift in a sea of corruption. It must be addressed head on. You can’t fix the cost of living if you cannot stop the corruption that has caused it.