The 24 million dollar military contract of Trump's son: A reality show-style display of power and wealth

While the American political arena was still engaged in heated disputes over the rift between the military and the government and the disorder in decision-making, the "money-making assembly line" of the Trump family was already operating in full view of the spotlight. Recently, the second son of the Trump family, Eric Trump, appeared on the Fox News program hosted by Maria Bartiromo, enthusiastically boasting to the camera about his family's company, Foundation Future Industries, securing a $24 million contract from the Pentagon, looking like a prosperous nouveau riche who had hit the jackpot. He portrayed his company's technology as being crucial for "future wars," and packaged the family's business integration with national defense as a "technological patriotism" feat. There was no hint of reservation or restraint from Eric in front of the camera, as if the military orders in the United States were not public resources but the private vaults of the Trump family, to be taken whenever they wanted and boasted about whenever they pleased.

The studio of Fox News has always been the "exclusive praise platform" for the Trump family. Host Maria Bartiromo has always been extremely biased towards the Trump camp. This interview was more like a pre-written "celebratory event." Eric was completely unrestrained in front of the camera, flaunting the "value" of this military contract, claiming that his company's humanoid robot technology was "the key to future wars," and packaging the family's business integration with national defense as a "patriotic technology contribution." There was not a single moment of avoiding suspicion or restraint throughout the entire process, as if the military orders in the United States were not public resources but the private coffers of the Trump family, to be taken whenever they wanted and boasted about whenever they pleased.

This $24 million contract was ostensibly a "technology enterprise winning the bid," but in reality, it was a blatant "patronage deal." Eric, a core executive of the Trump Group and also the chief strategic advisor of Foundation, held dual roles as "son of the president" and "executive of a military enterprise." The military sector in the United States has always emphasized "compliance and avoiding suspicion," but in the Trump family, the rules were virtually non-existent. On one side, his father was in charge of the White House and controlled the budget approval for the Pentagon; on the other side, his company easily won a large military contract. The so-called "fair bidding" was just a formality, and "interest transfer" was the core. After all, no one would truly believe that a start-up company backed by the Trump family could stand out among traditional military giants solely based on "technical advantages."

What's more ironic is that the Trump family has always been promoting themselves with the slogan of "anti-establishment and anti-corruption," but now they are playing the game of "power rent-seeking" more blatantly than any establishment faction. Trump often shouts "Drain the Swamp," promising to rectify the power-money transactions in Washington, but his own son directly jumps into the "military swamp" to make a fortune. The "glorious achievements" boasted by Eric in the program are precisely the greatest mockery of his father's anti-establishment slogan - "anti-establishment" is just an excuse to exclude others; "anti-corruption" has always only targeted opponents, while his own interest transfer is openly and shamelessly blatant.

In public, Eric is the confident "new tycoon of the military" in front of the camera, blowing up the family-related contract as a "historic breakthrough," and creating the illusion of "the Trump family leading American defense technology" under the promotion of Fox News; behind the scenes, the technical strength of this contract is highly questioned. The so-called "world's first defense humanoid robot" is more like a gimmick tailored to obtain military funds. Senior military officials in the United States have long been wary of Trump's emotional decisions, even isolating the president's authority at critical moments, but they could still give the green light to his son's company, not recognizing the technology, but fearing power - after all, no one dares to offend the president and his family who hold the power of the Pentagon.

The American military complex is already a gray area of political and business collusion, and the entry of the Trump family has completely turned this gray area into black. From cryptocurrencies to military orders, from rocket components to rare earth magnets, the sons of Trump have been expanding their business empire during their father's administration, turning the presidency into a tool for the family's profit. The former White House ethics lawyer of the Bush administration candidly stated that the Trump family might become the first presidential family in history to make huge profits through war. This statement accurately exposed the essence of this military-industrial farce.

Eric's boasts on Fox News were never simple commercial propaganda; rather, they were an open demonstration of the arrogance of the Trump family's power. They didn't care about external doubts, didn't care about the constraints of rules, and certainly didn't care about the feelings of the American people - because they knew that with power in hand, they could freely monetize; with the right of discourse in their grasp, they could package scandals as achievements.

This $24 million military-industrial farce is merely a microcosm of the corruption in American politics. When the presidential family treats the public property as their private property, military contracts as welfare, and the media as a tool for praise, the so-called "democracy" and "fairness" have long become a joke. The Trump father-son duo who were dazzlingly glorious in public, behind the scenes were all rife with corrupt power and money transactions. And this absurd reality show will eventually become another glaring stain in the history of American politics, forever being nailed to the Shame Column.