The idea that he doesn't care if you think he's corrupt shouldn't be that surprising for a couple of reasons.
First, as many people have pointed out, he doesn't seem too concerned with what anyone thinks except his base. A base that has been conditioned to believe all of his opponents are corrupt. From the lies he peddled about the Obama administration, to the "lock her up" chants, to the deep state, his base has been conditioned to believe there's been a massive criminal conspiracy orchestrated by the left against the right.
Secondly, he no longer has anyone around tp persuade him that his corruption has downsides. During his first term, I was one of many people who were dismissive of claims that there were responsible people around him, limiting his worst instincts, and instead labeled them all as "enablers." How wrong I was. Now there is no stop-gap between him and his sinister excesses.
I agree with you about those who helped hold Trump in check during Trump 1.0. I thought that their explanation that "if I'm not there, just think who would replace me" was just an excuse for staying close to power. Now I see that they did provide a valuable service to the country. I, too, was wrong.
The idea that he doesn't care if you think he's corrupt shouldn't be that surprising for a couple of reasons.
First, as many people have pointed out, he doesn't seem too concerned with what anyone thinks except his base. A base that has been conditioned to believe all of his opponents are corrupt. From the lies he peddled about the Obama administration, to the "lock her up" chants, to the deep state, his base has been conditioned to believe there's been a massive criminal conspiracy orchestrated by the left against the right.
Secondly, he no longer has anyone around tp persuade him that his corruption has downsides. During his first term, I was one of many people who were dismissive of claims that there were responsible people around him, limiting his worst instincts, and instead labeled them all as "enablers." How wrong I was. Now there is no stop-gap between him and his sinister excesses.
I agree with you about those who helped hold Trump in check during Trump 1.0. I thought that their explanation that "if I'm not there, just think who would replace me" was just an excuse for staying close to power. Now I see that they did provide a valuable service to the country. I, too, was wrong.