David Frum says Trump raking in 'literally millions' thanks to presidency

Power Play: Trump slammed in new book 'Trumpocracy' author David Frum says his new book is about the system of power that U.S. President Trump operates within.

Donald Trump’s pursuit of the U.S. presidency was motivated by a desire to bolster his vast, undisclosed investment portfolio, according to a speechwriter for former president George W. Bush.

“That is, I think, why he wanted the job,” David Frum, now the senior editor at The Atlantic magazine, told CTV Power Play host Don Martin on Thursday. “Donald Trump is receiving literally millions of dollars in payments right now, maybe more, we don’t know, it’s not disclosed, from foreign business partners in the Philippines, in Turkey, in the United Arab Emirates, in India, and in other places.”

In a wide-ranging conversation about his new book titled “Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic,” Frum scoffed at the notion that the 45th President of the United States has adequately distanced himself from the sizeable family business now in the hands of his children. Any argument to the contrary is a “total joke,” he said.

Shortly before he became president, Trump placed his holdings in a revocable trust managed by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, thereby removing himself from day-to-day dealings, while maintaining a long-term interest in the success of the business. Last year, ProPublica reported that Trump can withdraw profits and underlying assets from the trust at any time without external disclosure.

“The custodians are his brow-beaten children, who report to him at regular intervals about what he is collecting,” Frum said.

Trump is the first U.S president since Richard Nixon not to publicaly reveal his federal income tax returns, though pages from his 2005 return fell into the hands of the press last year. Trump has claimed he is under audit by the Internal Revenue Service, and said his lawyers advised him against releasing tax documents. The extent of Trump’s foreign business holdings are largely shrouded in mystery as a result.

For Frum, the question of whether Trump is using his political power to line the family coffers is one among many ethical faults he sees with the man at the top of the current U.S administration. Trump’s relationship with facts and those who speak truth to his power are also big ones on his list.

“If you speak truth, he doesn’t hear it,” Frum said of Trump. “If there is systematic lying, then the ultimate proper rulers of the country, in a democracy, not a Trumpocracy, they can’t act because they don’t know.”

Frum even goes so far as to suggest the culture that Trump has cultivated in his Washington inner-circle is toxic to the point of corrupting “the good people” around him.

“One of the things that is so sinister about his government, is people join often for a mix, they want power, they hope to do good, protect the country, but Trump changes them,” he said. “It’s not a personal thing. The people around him do it too, because they have to, including the good people, people who start good.”

Trumpocracy, Frum explains, is a system of power that has grown to encompass more than the man behind the desk in the Oval Office.

“The president governs with the support of others. When he misbehaves, as this president is doing, he does it with the complicity and support of others . . . the permissions from members of his party, from members of congress, from the donor elite, from the rank-and-file republicans in the states, and from a lot of the conservative intellectuals, unfortunately.”

Trump’s approval ratings have cratered to historic lows for a first-year U.S. president, especially considering the roaring domestic economy. But Frum warns this should not be taken as a sign the Trumpocracy will collapse under its own weight.

“There will be tax relief in 2018. For many people, their after-tax wages will rise and they will like that. 2018 may see Donald Trump’s poll numbers improve,” he said. “He will be an incumbent president. Incumbent president’s usually win.”

Frum’s said his blistering analysis of a Republican president is a bitter pill to swallow for a registered party member. But he’s convinced some things are more important than his ideal policy agenda.

“I don’t want my policy preferences so much that I am prepared to burn down American democracy to get them,” he said.