“Systems of governance that are seized by a tiny cabal become mafia states.”[i]– Chris Hedges
During Trump’s first term, some saw his penchant for rebuking those he felt were disloyal to him and surrounding himself with yes men as evidence that he was running the US like a mob boss, not a president. Some compared his style of governance with Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un and other leaders of ‘mafia states’. Nancy Ries calls the Trump regime a thugocracy, and she describes thugocracies as “projects of sophisticated state capture, through organized crime networks at every level of scale, and utilizing complex arrays of mafia tactics, personnel, and practices.”[ii] Russia and North Korea are prime examples, but other states that have been called thugocracies include Egypt, Myanmar, and South Africa under Jacob Zuma.[iii] Trump’s Attorney General during the end of his first term, William Barr, was lambasted as the equivalent of a mob lawyer, protecting Trump at all costs.[iv] When Trump pardoned Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, he was accused of acting like a mob boss, protecting his associates from the law.[v] Andrew Weissmann, one of the prosecutors who worked with Robert Mueller on the Russian collusion investigation, said at the time that “The pardons from this President are what you would expect to get if you gave the pardon power to a mob boss,”[vi] Despite these claims, the US became a mafia state decades ago, and now, with the Trump regime, we are forced to grapple with that reality.
Figures like Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton, though they submitted to Wall Street and the permanent regime, were able to sustain the illusion of liberal democracy, however, with Trump, that illusion was shattered. Any government that is captured by a handful of unelected coteries of obscenely wealthy people inevitably becomes a mafia state, as for those in power to maintain their control, they must become increasingly illiberal. Christopher Coyne makes this point, that a liberal empire must behave illiberally to sustain itself.[vii] As Chris Hedges notes, there is a slow process by which the mafia state takes shape, what John Raulston Saul calls a coup in slow motion, which culminates in a “corporate coup d’état”, embodied by the first Trump administration. Hedges argues that during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, there are false “promises that the pillage will benefit everyone.”, and then there are the presidencies of George Bush and Obama, which are defined by promises of transformation and revolution, despite the reality that it is only worsening.[viii] In the end, under Trump, we “see the lunatic trolls, hedge fund parasites, con artists, conspiracy theorists and criminals drop all pretense and carry out an orgy of looting and corruption.”[ix] Obama did nothing to stop or reverse this process. He continued it, expanding the security state and selling out to Wall Street and the permanent regime, deciding not to prosecute any of the financial speculators or torturers at the CIA. Clinton appointed the likes of Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan, laying the foundation for the Wall Street pillage which resulted in the great recession in 2007-2008, yet, most of the arguments about America’s transition into a mafia state focus solely on the Trump regime. This is not surprising, as much of the literature on Trump posits him as the centerpiece in many of the problems that he either worsened or continued, even though they did not originate with him.
Jan Werner-Muller, a scholar who writes a lot about populism, argues that Trump governs with mob tactics, and he references the Hungarian sociologist Bálint Magyar, who coined the term mafia state.[x] The term is used “to describe the creation of “political families” (which can include a ruler’s actual family, as in the examples of Trump’s, Orbán’s, Bolsonaro’s and Erdoğan’s children, with especially nefarious roles reserved for sons-in-law); these families then use the state to enrich themselves.”[xi] Werner-Muller goes on to quote a Hungarian observer who says that the goal of the legal system in mafia states is not “To persecute the innocent. It is the power to protect the guilty.”[xii] Interestingly, Werner-Muller only applies this term to Trump and his family, not to the Clintons, who received millions from Wall Street and foreign leaders, or the Obamas, who own three enormous estates, or the Soros’, where Goerge Soros has left his fortune and political network to his son, or the Bush’s, who spent years enriching themselves in a dynasty that almost spanned three decades. Werner-Muller and others in his circle seem to think that terms like mafia state and thugocracy only apply to politicians he is disgusted by. Instead of wondering how Trump can act the way he is, and why someone of his ilk managed to enter the White House not once, but twice. He sees Trump and his style of politics as an aberration, not as the end phase of a process underway for decades. Part of this end phase is the absolute corruption and vileness of Trump’s opposition, who present themselves as defenders of democracy and all that is good, but actions speak louder than words, and the actions of Biden and his political class are the total opposite of what they declare themselves to be. This is exemplified by Biden’s decision to pardon his family and many officials. This is the type of action we are told only happens in notoriously corrupt countries like North Korea or Russia, or that only occurs under despots like Trump. It is the action of a mafia state, protecting their own and ensuring that the new administration has precedent to do the same, starting a cycle of immunity for the ruling class. Biden was supposed to be a defender of norms like the rule of law; however, he has proven to be the opposite. Instead of call him out for this as they should, worthless lapdogs in the corporate press either switch to a different topic or insist that Biden is protecting his family and officials like Fauci from unfair prosecution, citing Trump’s promises of revenge as evidence that they will be ruthlessly targeted based on politics, not justice.[xiii]
Trump’s supporters are not totally wrong in their clamors for revenge. Biden’s pardons of his family and overall are shameless and disgraceful. In total, he gave out 8064 pardons, far more than all his predecessors.[xiv] This cements his legacy as a destroyer of norms, despite alleging that he sees them as sacrosanct. Biden sounded exactly Trump as he announced these pardons, as he said that “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances,”[xv] When he pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, he attacked the investigation, arguing that Hunter was only being targeted because his last name is Biden.[xvi] He also pardoned other members of his family, shielding them from prosecution for potential crimes since 2014. The same pundits who were shocked at the thought of Trump offering preemptive pardons and at him pardoning political allies like Stone and Steve Bannon, and who are aghast at Trump’s hundreds of pardons delivered so far in his second term, were not similarly outraged at Biden’s pardons. They are complicit in the mafia state.
At least in North Korea and Russia we know who the head thugs are. In US and the West, we have little to no idea which thugs are making decisions and policy proposals. Those who supported Biden and Harris, claiming that they are a contrast to Trump on the rule of law, should have their heads bowed in shame for eternity. This brings us to Trump’s pardons and commutations in his second term. Right after taking office, he issued over 1600 acts of clemency, and most of these are the J6 defendants, as well as Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.[xvii] These pardons were just, however, most of Trump’s other pardons and commutations are unjust and brazenly corrupt. He recently claimed that many of Biden’s actions as president are null and void because of his use of the autopen, and he tried to invalidate actions, including pardons, mainly of his political allies and family members, however, when asked on 60 Minutes about his pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Trump said he had no idea who Zhao is.[xviii] This, as well as other gross pardons, especially the pardon of con artist David Gentile, who scammed working people out of millions (Gentile will also not have to pay any restitution to his victims), illustrate a dark, scummy program to negotiate pardons in exchange for lobbying and political donations.[xix]
As Harrison Berger notes, while conservative media was quick, justifiably, to pounce on the insipid corruption of Biden and his family, there is little reported on the same corruption in the Trump regime, and when it is, it is not reported with the same ire as Biden’s pardons.[xx] The worst of Trump’s pardons is that of Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who was convicted for trafficking hundreds of pounds of cocaine into the US, and Trump pardoned Hernandez as he is waging a war on so called narcoterrorists. The White House claims that the Biden regime unfairly prosecuted Hernandez, but the reality is that the US was meddling in Honduras’ presidential election, as Trump has publicly backed the National Party candidate Nasry Arsufa.[xxi]
Further, there is the issue of Trump’s personal corruption, which has ballooned to obscene levels of self-dealing and using his office to enrich himself and his family. Although it is unprecedented, in terms of the sheer excess, it is not surprising that Trump is able to flout norms and potentially laws relating to the presidency and self-enrichment. The cycle of corruption in the White House, as well as the revolving door of officials leaving and getting cushy jobs at think tanks or law firms, then coming back again when their preferred party is in power, has been spinning for decades and now, it is at its apex, and it is extreme, but given the pillage the preceded Trump, it is not as aberrational as many make it out to be. It is unusual in its scale, but in its action, it is merely the next step in an evolutionary process that was well underway by the time Trump stepped into Washington back in 2017 and then again in 2025. Before getting into the depths of Trump’s corruption now, which is heinous and at least bordering on criminal, it must be understood that though the stark scale of it may be unprecedented, its manifestation is not. The obscenity of Trump’s corruption should force us to reckon with this reality, however, most criticism of it focuses exclusively on Trump, memory holing prior corruption and the foundation for it that was laid by his predecessors. It’s all in the family, not just the Trump family, but the Washington family.
[i] Chris Hedges, “The Mafia State,” Truthdig, December 5, 2016, https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-mafia-state/.
[ii] Nancy Ries, Thugocracy: Bandit Regimes and State Capture, 21, no. 4 (2020): 473–85, https://doi.org/10.1080/17533171.2020.1832804.
[iii] Alex Finley, “The Unraveling of a Don’s Family,” Center for Public Integrity, October 25, 2019, https://publicintegrity.org/national-security/alex-finley-analysis/unraveling-donald-trump-family/; David Corn, “Now That Trump Has Been Indicted under RICO, Let’s Look at His Past Mob Ties,” Politics, Mother Jones, n.d., accessed September 22, 2026, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/08/donald-trump-rico-indictment-georgia-mafia-ties/; Jim Harrison, “Welcome to the Thugocracy,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 24, 2025, https://www.ajc.com/opinion/opinion-welcome-to-the-thugocracy/KK6653A6ENBTTJFJGFN5HD2H5M/.
[iv] Norman Eisen and Victoria Bassetti, “Opinion | Barr Makes It Official—He’s Trump’s New ‘Fixer,’” POLITICO Magazine, August 1, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/01/barr-makes-it-official-hes-trump-new-fixer-389805; David Smith, “Is Trump’s Top Cop, Attorney General William Barr, a Danger to Democracy?,” US News, The Guardian, August 2, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/02/william-barr-attorney-general-trump-washington.
[v] Pamela Brown Liptak Paul LeBlanc,Katelyn Polantz,Kevin, “Trump Issues 26 New Pardons, Including for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner | CNN Politics,” CNN, December 24, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/politics/trump-pardons-stone-manafort-kushner.
[vi] Liptak, “Trump Issues 26 New Pardons, Including for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner | CNN Politics.”
[vii] Christopher J. Coyne, In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Folly of American Empire and the Paths to Peace (Independent Institute, 2022).
[viii] Chris Hedges, “The Mafia State.”
[ix] Chris Hedges, “The Mafia State.”
[x] Jan-Werner Müller, “Trump Yearns to Govern a Mafia State. Fitting That He Faces Racketeering Charges,” Opinion, The Guardian, August 22, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/22/trump-yearns-to-govern-a-mafia-state-fitting-that-he-faces-racketeering-charges.
[xi] Müller, “Trump Yearns to Govern a Mafia State. Fitting That He Faces Racketeering Charges.”
[xii] Müller, “Trump Yearns to Govern a Mafia State. Fitting That He Faces Racketeering Charges.”
[xiii] Frank Bowman, “Trump’s Day 1 Showed Criminal Presidents Could Become the Norm.,” Slate, January 22, 2025, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/01/trump-day-one-criminal-president-january-6-pardons.html; Edward Helmore, “Biden’s Last-Minute Pardons Draw Ire from Both Sides of Political Divide,” The Guardian, January 20, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/biden-pardons-jan-6-family-reaction.
[xiv] John Gramlich, “Biden Granted More Acts of Clemency than Any Prior President,” Joe Biden, Pew Research Center, February 7, 2025, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/.
[xv] Joseph R. Biden, “Statement on Pardons and Commutations,” The American Presidency Project, January 20, 2025, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-pardons-and-commutations-2.
[xvi] Joseph R. Biden, “Statement on the Presidential Pardon for R. Hunter Biden,” The American Presidency Project, December 1, 2024, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-presidential-pardon-for-r-hunter-biden.
[xvii] Ella Lee, “Trump Pardons Nearly All Jan. 6 Rioters on First Day of Presidency,” Text, The Hill, January 21, 2025, https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5096927-trump-commutes-sentence-proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio/; US Department of Justice, “Office of the Pardon Attorney | Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present),” Government, US Department of Justice, April 24, 2025, https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present.
[xviii] Nick Robins-Early, “Trump Pardons Founder of Binance, World’s Largest Crypto Exchange,” Technology, The Guardian, October 23, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/23/binance-trump-pardon-changpeng-zhao; CBS Mornings, Trump Says “I Know Nothing about It” When Asked about Crypto Billionaire Pardon, with guest Donald J. Trump, hosted by Norah O’Donnell, 2025, 02:09, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRm7U8ZSA0.
[xix] Michael Sainato, “Trump Grants Clemency to Executive Convicted in Fraud Scheme – Report,” US News, The Guardian, November 30, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/30/trump-grants-clemency-executive-convicted-fraud-scheme.
[xx] The American Conservative and Harrison Berger, “Trump’s Clemency Machine Deserves More Right-Wing Scrutiny,” The American Conservative, December 10, 2025, https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-clemency-machine-deserves-more-right-wing-scrutiny/.
[xxi] Walter Olson, “Pardoning Hernández—Where’s the Logic?,” Cato Institute, December 3, 2025, https://www.cato.org/blog/pardoning-hernandez-wheres-logic.
References
CBS Mornings. Trump Says “I Know Nothing about It” When Asked about Crypto Billionaire Pardon. With guest Donald J. Trump. Hosted by Norah O’Donnell. 2025. 02:09. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRm7U8ZSA0.
Chris Hedges. “The Mafia State.” Truthdig, December 5, 2016. https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-mafia-state/.
Conservative, The American, and Harrison Berger. “Trump’s Clemency Machine Deserves More Right-Wing Scrutiny.” The American Conservative, December 10, 2025. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-clemency-machine-deserves-more-right-wing-scrutiny/.
Corn, David. “Now That Trump Has Been Indicted under RICO, Let’s Look at His Past Mob Ties.” Politics. Mother Jones, n.d. Accessed September 22, 2026. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/08/donald-trump-rico-indictment-georgia-mafia-ties/.
Coyne, Christopher J. In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Folly of American Empire and the Paths to Peace. Independent Institute, 2022.
Edward Helmore. “Biden’s Last-Minute Pardons Draw Ire from Both Sides of Political Divide.” The Guardian, January 20, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/biden-pardons-jan-6-family-reaction.
Finley, Alex. “The Unraveling of a Don’s Family.” Center for Public Integrity, October 25, 2019. https://publicintegrity.org/national-security/alex-finley-analysis/unraveling-donald-trump-family/.
Frank Bowman. “Trump’s Day 1 Showed Criminal Presidents Could Become the Norm.” Slate, January 22, 2025. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/01/trump-day-one-criminal-president-january-6-pardons.html.
Gramlich, John. “Biden Granted More Acts of Clemency than Any Prior President.” Joe Biden. Pew Research Center, February 7, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/.
Jim Harrison. “Welcome to the Thugocracy.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 24, 2025. https://www.ajc.com/opinion/opinion-welcome-to-the-thugocracy/KK6653A6ENBTTJFJGFN5HD2H5M/.
Joseph R. Biden. “Statement on Pardons and Commutations.” The American Presidency Project, January 20, 2025. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-pardons-and-commutations-2.
Joseph R. Biden. “Statement on the Presidential Pardon for R. Hunter Biden.” The American Presidency Project, December 1, 2024. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-presidential-pardon-for-r-hunter-biden.
Lee, Ella. “Trump Pardons Nearly All Jan. 6 Rioters on First Day of Presidency.” Text. The Hill, January 21, 2025. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5096927-trump-commutes-sentence-proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio/.
Liptak, Pamela Brown, Paul LeBlanc,Katelyn Polantz,Kevin. “Trump Issues 26 New Pardons, Including for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner | CNN Politics.” CNN, December 24, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/politics/trump-pardons-stone-manafort-kushner.
Müller, Jan-Werner. “Trump Yearns to Govern a Mafia State. Fitting That He Faces Racketeering Charges.” Opinion. The Guardian, August 22, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/22/trump-yearns-to-govern-a-mafia-state-fitting-that-he-faces-racketeering-charges.
Nancy Ries. Thugocracy: Bandit Regimes and State Capture. 21, no. 4 (2020): 473–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533171.2020.1832804.
Norman Eisen and Victoria Bassetti. “Opinion | Barr Makes It Official—He’s Trump’s New ‘Fixer.’” POLITICO Magazine, August 1, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/01/barr-makes-it-official-hes-trump-new-fixer-389805.
Robins-Early, Nick. “Trump Pardons Founder of Binance, World’s Largest Crypto Exchange.” Technology. The Guardian, October 23, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/23/binance-trump-pardon-changpeng-zhao.
Sainato, Michael. “Trump Grants Clemency to Executive Convicted in Fraud Scheme – Report.” US News. The Guardian, November 30, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/30/trump-grants-clemency-executive-convicted-fraud-scheme.
Smith, David. “Is Trump’s Top Cop, Attorney General William Barr, a Danger to Democracy?” US News. The Guardian, August 2, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/02/william-barr-attorney-general-trump-washington.
US Department of Justice. “Office of the Pardon Attorney | Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present).” Government. US Department of Justice, April 24, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present.
Walter Olson. “Pardoning Hernández—Where’s the Logic?” Cato Institute, December 3, 2025. https://www.cato.org/blog/pardoning-hernandez-wheres-logic.
Leave a Reply