Democrats push anti-corruption message in midterm homestretch

Nearly nine in 10 Americans believe government corruption is widespread – a consensus Democrats hope to capitalise on as voters make up their minds on whether to keep billionaire Donald Trump’s Republicans in power.

Former president Barack Obama has hammered the message home in recent days as he stumps for Democratic candidates in must-win states, hoping to flip control of Congress.

Trump “is very much focused on enriching himself and his family and his cronies,” Obama told a rally Wednesday in Georgia. “The guy has made billions of dollars while in office.”

“We have never seen a president so intent on selling favours like this,” Obama added, echoing a speech he made days earlier in Michigan, another swing state.

Ray La Raja, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Democrats’ goal with such anti-corruption rhetoric is partly about “energising the base” of steadfast Democrats to make sure they vote.

But it also aims to create a “narrative to get those swing voters, those persuadable independents” who are generally upset about the economy, to “come out” on Nov 3.

Some Republican voters also “might be so demoralised, they won’t show up,” La Raja added.

Who’s to blame?

Democrats head into the midterm elections with high expectations, as the party of a sitting president historically loses seats, Trump’s approval ratings are at record lows, and there is broad discontent over high prices.

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll released in September showed 89% of Americans believe there is widespread government corruption in the United States – 10 percentage points higher than last year and the highest level in 20 years.

The spikes in perceptions of corruption were most elevated among Democrats, according to the poll.

La Raja said that the most important issue for voters, always, is economics, and most people now believe those conditions are not good.

“And they’re looking for why. Who’s to blame for this? And corruption is one of those narratives that works,” he said.

Democratic leaders hope to funnel that anger at soaring gas and grocery costs toward Trump, while highlighting, like Obama did, that the president’s net worth has risen by billions of dollars since he began his second term.

“There’s a direct link between the unbelievable levels of corruption and the continued rise in the cost of living,” Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said in September.

Trump has also repeatedly accused his political opponents of wrongdoing, though his attacks primarily focus on alleged election fraud.

He has denied any conflicts of interest or that he has been involved in his family’s business deals since taking office.

Watergate?

Nonetheless, he openly blurs the lines between government and personal business – a prime example being the choice of his own golf resort to host an upcoming G-20 summit.

He has also faced scrutiny over his historically high number of stock trades, contracts being inked by his family around the world, and the peculiar gift of a free luxury jet by Qatar to be used as Air Force One.

But none of the scandals with whiffs of corruption have so far triggered sensational backlash comparable to the Watergate saga, which led to Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

Could Trump be getting a pass due to his businessman background, or are there deeper shifts in how the public and media perceive alleged corruption?

Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, remarked that had such a scandal as Watergate occurred nowadays “it would be like a 12-hour news story.”

“The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” the likely 2028 presidential contender added.

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