Dems See Trump’s Corruption as the Grift That Keeps on Giving

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Cite

Egan, L. (2026, October 19). Dems See Trump’s Corruption as the Grift That Keeps on Giving. The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/dems-see-trumps-corruption-as-the

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The Bulwark · collected 2026-10-19 · by Lauren Egan commentary

Quick Summary

Democrats are observing a shift in public sentiment regarding former President Donald Trump's corruption allegations, which may influence the upcoming midterm elections. Despite initial voter ambivalence towards corruption claims during Trump’s presidency, recent polls indicate growing concern among Americans about government corruption and inappropriate profiteering by politicians like Trump. These findings suggest that Democrats might successfully leverage accusations of Trump’s unethical behavior to mobilize voters in this election cycle.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-19, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of October 19, 2026, Democrats see Donald Trump's corruption allegations resurfacing as a significant political issue ahead of the midterms. Initially, in 2017, Trump faced accusations of violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause within seventy-two hours of taking office. Despite Democratic outrage over these and subsequent corruption claims, voters were largely indifferent until recently. Focus groups conducted by Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell showed that many Trump supporters dismissed the allegations with comments like "he can’t be bought" or questioning if any politician is truly clean. However, Democrats now believe this ambivalence has shifted, potentially impacting voter behavior in the upcoming midterms.

Written for “Trump's Corruption Allegations” on 2026-10-19, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence medium
Leaning: leans left for article 89686 (medium confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-19

Story

📰 Trump's Corruption Allegations
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
October 15, 2026 different event · 95%
Letters from an American
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 15% hedged 10 of 65
“The articles discuss different themes related to corruption in politics, with Article A focusing on a general critique of single-party rule leading to corruption and unqualified leadership, while Article B discusses the public's reaction to specific allegations of corruption against Donald Trump.”
Democrats’ ‘debanking’ abuses show they’re the big threat to democracy different event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles discuss different topics: one focuses on Democrats' 'debanking' abuses, while the other discusses Trump's corruption allegations and voter reactions.”
Here’s the biggest news you missed this weekend different event · 95%
NBC News
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 5% hedged 3 of 55 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles discuss different aspects of public opinion towards President Trump and his administration's perceived corruption, spanning multiple time periods rather than a single incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
8
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Bulwark · 442 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Lauren Egan
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Today, though, there’s reason to believe that the public’s earlier ambivalence has faded, and that Trump’s corruption is not only breaking through in a big way, but could sway the course of this year’s midterms.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Dems See Trump’s Corruption as the Grift That Keeps on Giving
🔮 Lauren talks with Hamilton supporters about why they think Kansas could finally be ready to elect a Democrat to the Senate for the first time in nearly a century, and asks Hamilton how he plans to win over Republicans and voters who remain skeptical of the Democratic Party. Join Bulwark+ to unlock the rest Become a paying member of The Bulwark to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Republicans Are Panicking Over the Kansas Senate Race
🔮 Prairie Village, Kansas STANDING IN FRONT OF A CROWD of roughly a hundred people on Friday evening, Adam Hamilton didn’t have the aura of a man whose entire life was about to be picked apart, whose political ambitions were set to be battered by millions of dollars of negative TV ads, whose campaign had become a vector of immodest hope for Democrats dreaming of an unfathomably successful midterm election.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Kansas Is in Play. Can Adam Hamilton Keep It That Way?
🔮 AS DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVES brace for the final weeks of the midterm campaign, they’ve been pleased to discover that they may not need to actually get above 50 percent of the vote to win in several key races.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Live Free or Die (Helping Dems Get Elected)
🔮 The mission at hand, he would tell them, is like landing a plane in a hurricane.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Could a Wave THIS Big Actually Happen?
🔮 WITH JUST OVER SIX WEEKS TO GO until Election Day, things couldn’t be going better for the Democrats.
2026-09-21 · assertive framing · The One Legit Reason for Dem Panic
🔮 Would it be better to embrace moderation or progressivism?
2026-09-14 · assertive framing · Bernie Dogs Could Teach Democrats a New Trick
🔮 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE decided this spring against hosting a midterm convention to counterprogram the one Republicans are set to have this evening and the next.
2026-09-10 · assertive framing · Dems to Trump: Please, Sir, the Stage Is Yours
🔮 Because this coming cycle, black voters in the South will have an outsized impact.
2026-09-07 · assertive framing · What South Carolina Dems Really Think of Newsom
🔮 IF YOU WERE THE PRESIDENT and were purposefully trying to tank your party’s chances of retaining control of Congress in an election year, you might say something like: “The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor.”
2026-09-03 · assertive framing · Trump Hands Dems Their Best Gift Yet
Also by Lauren Egan
Republicans Are Panicking Over the Kansas Senate Race
2026-10-07 · The Bulwark
Kansas Is in Play. Can Adam Hamilton Keep It That Way?
2026-10-05 · The Bulwark
Live Free or Die (Helping Dems Get Elected)
2026-10-01 · The Bulwark
Could a Wave THIS Big Actually Happen?
2026-09-28 · The Bulwark
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Lauren Egan →

Topics

Americans Bulwark Bulwark+ Democratic JVL

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× Bulwark ORG · 3× Americans NORP · 2× Bulwark+ ORG · 2× Democratic NORP · 2× JVL ORG · 2× Sarah Longwell PERSON · 2× Carolyn PERSON · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Washington GPE · 1×

Narrative

Unlock this story—and everything from The Bulwark October Surprise: Save 30% on your first year of Bulwark+ - Never hit a Bulwark paywall again — get every article and newsletter, including JVL's Triad, The Focus Group, and Receipts. - Get more from the voices you follow — ad-free podcasts plus member-only shows like The Secret Podcast with Sarah Longwell and JVL.
framing: assertive · carried by 8 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 Today, though, there’s reason to believe that the public’s earlier ambivalence has faded, and that Trump’s corruption is not only breaking through in a big way, but could sway the course of this year’s midterms.
2026-10-07 · The Bulwark
Susan Collins Couldn't Answer One Simple Question About Trump · assertive framing
2026-10-08 · The Bulwark
We Spoke to the Guy Who Snitched on Kimberly Guilfoyle (w/ Eric Deters) · assertive framing
2026-10-08 · The Bulwark
Dems Warn Voters: Trump May Not Deliver Your Mailed-in Ballots · assertive framing
2026-10-09 · The Bulwark
Is He the One We’ve Been Waiting For? · assertive framing
2026-10-11 · The Bulwark
Susan Glasser: Trump’s Most Loyal Supporters Are Abandoning Him · assertive framing
2026-10-15 · The Bulwark
DHS Raids Ilhan Omar’s Home. Weissmann Smells a Rat. · assertive framing
2026-10-16 · The Bulwark
Alan Cumming and Robert Garcia: The Traitors Running Our Government · assertive framing
2026-10-19 · The Bulwark
Dems See Trump’s Corruption as the Grift That Keeps on Giving · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for Donald Trump to face accusations of corruption after he first arrived in Washington in 2017. asserted
he → take → 2017
In fact, within seventy-two hours of being sworn in as president, he got hit with a lawsuit alleging he’d violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause. asserted
he → swear → Clause
But while the Democratic political class was outraged by Trump’s corruption—even turning his failure to “drain the swamp” into a key pillar of their 2018 midterm strategy—the harsh reality was that voters didn’t really care. asserted
voters → outrage → strategy
Focus groups Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell conducted at the end of Trump’s first term and in its aftermath showed wide ambivalence to the corruption charges. asserted
Longwell → conduct → charges
Many Trump supporters downplayed his immense wealth and refusal to show his tax returns by saying things like “he can’t be bought” and “what politician doesn’t do it?” asserted
politician → downplay → it
As Carolyn, a disaffected 2016 Trump voter from Florida, put it in one 2020 focus group when asked about the various scandals: “It bothers me on a personal level, but I didn’t vote for him to be my friend.” asserted
him → put → level
Or as Drew, a repeat Trump voter from Colorado, put it in 2023 when asked about Trump making millions selling t-shirts and other merchandise featuring his mugshot: “Well, more power to him then, right?” asserted
Trump → put → him
Today, though, there’s reason to believe that the public’s earlier ambivalence has faded, and that Trump’s corruption is not only breaking through in a big way, but could sway the course of this year’s midterms. uncertain
corruption → ’ → midterms
A recent Gallup survey found a record number of Americans believe government corruption is widespread, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans believe Trump has inappropriately profited since returning to office. asserted
Trump → find → office
A Fox News poll released last week showed that corruption in government was the top issue for registered voters, followed closely by inflation and high prices. asserted
corruption → release → inflation
Far from fearful that they’re re-running a playbook that proved relatively ineffectual in 2018, the Democratic officials and strategists I talked to say Last call! asserted
I → re → 2018
Our 30 percent Bulwark+ discount ends in just a few hours. asserted
discount → end → hours
And whatever happens on Election Day, the fight for American democracy—and the need for independent journalism—won’t end when the votes are counted. asserted
votes → happen → journalism
We’d love for you to be part of the pro-democracy community we’re building. asserted
we → love → community
And if you sign up for a new Bulwark+ membership before 11:59 p.m. Eastern tonight, you can get in for 30 percent off the normal price. asserted
you → sign → price
Join the side you’re already on. asserted
you → join → side
Unlock this story—and everything from The Bulwark October Surprise: Save 30% on your first year of Bulwark+ - Never hit a Bulwark paywall again — get every article and newsletter, including JVL's Triad, The Focus Group, and Receipts. - Get more from the voices you follow — ad-free podcasts plus member-only shows like The Secret Podcast with Sarah Longwell and JVL. asserted
you → unlock → Longwell
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