Trump's Third Term Will Be as a Private Citizen Reaping Huge Windfalls from his Second Term's Groundwork
Donald Trump isn't governing America. He's prepping the Trump Organization for its biggest expansion yet.
If you watch his moves through the lens of policy or ideology, you'll drive yourself mad. His tariff tantrums, his protection of Putin, his mutterings about building resorts in Gaza — they don't make sense as US strategy. But if you watch him as a businessman laying groundwork for deals he plans to cut the moment he leaves office, suddenly it all lines up. Well, he's not even waiting; it's already in progress through him directly and his family.
The Tariff Shuffle
Take Vietnam. In April 2025, Trump threatened 46% tariffs on Vietnamese exports. By May, a $1.5 billion Trump Organization golf and resort project north of Hanoi got approved — with Eric Trump attending the groundbreaking ceremony alongside Vietnam's Prime Minister. Tariffs as leverage, approvals as payoff. That's not geopolitics. That's a shakedown.
Putin the Gatekeeper
Why does he shield Putin while pretending to "support" Ukraine? Because Trump Tower Moscow was never a fantasy. Russian officials are actively considering reviving those plans — a 150-story skyscraper, with Trump attending the groundbreaking ceremony in Moscow. Putin knows it. He knows Trump's future depends on Kremlin approval. And that leash explains everything. His favoritism towards Putin is not going unnoticed by Putin and it will be rewarded.
Gaza, the "Riviera"
Trump hasn't just mused about Gaza's potential — he's announced that America will "take over" the territory and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East." Kushner has repeatedly praised Gaza's "waterfront property" as "very valuable" while his investment firm builds luxury Mediterranean resorts elsewhere. Forget refugees, human rights, or history. In Trump's head, it's prime real estate waiting for condos and casinos once the rubble is cleared.
Hollowing Out the Watchdogs
Meanwhile, he's crippling the very agencies that could one day scrutinize his empire. The IRS? Starved. The FBI's white-collar units? Gutted. It's a preemptive strike: dismantle the referees before the game even begins. It will take more than a decade to rebuild that infrastructure.
A Tax Code for Himself
The 2017 tax cuts were no accident. They were a direct transfer of wealth to Trump, his family, and his donor class. The pass-through deduction alone — letting business owners skip taxes on 20% of their income — sent 64% of its benefits to the top 1.5% of earners. Add in estate tax relief for dynasties, permanent corporate cuts, and bonus depreciation. He's written himself the exit package in advance.
The Only Brake
Republican Congress won't stop him or slow him down. His stranglehold on GOP voters gives him carte blanche. The courts crawl and in the end are neutered by a fanboy Supreme Court. The media follows him like a faithful dog. The only thing he fears are midterms — the chance that voters might hand governing power to Democrats. That's why he continues to double down on the populist game and the lies and misdirection.
The Truth MAGA Can't Face
Anyone who thinks Trump cares about Christian values, working-class pain, or patriotic duty is deluding themselves. Those were props. His loyalty is to the brand, the deal, the family fortune. He is governing now with one eye on the exit and the other on the profit sheet.
When the dust settles, America will be left with the bill. Trump will be left with towers, resorts, planes, and crypto schemes. And his voters will wonder — too late — why their savior sentenced them to a lifetime of diminished living. And if history is any predictor, they will never know what hit them. And that's why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.