The Friday Brief

May 24, 2024

The Big Picture

Mob Boss

The thing about criminals is they’re usually edge cases who can’t make it in the real economy. On the low end of the spectrum, they’re criminals because they either aren’t (or can’t be) educated, have some mental health issue that makes them unemployable, or suffer from a spectrum of substance abuse problems. Crime, at the lower end, is profoundly unglamorous.

In the white-collar crime world, it’s essentially just boring. These folks tweak accounting systems, cook the books, skim off the earnings, falsify invoices…all the usual gray-collar tricks. This, too, is largely boring. People find themselves in this category of criminal because they’re in the right place with the proper access and are generally driven by opportunism and resentment of their overpaid bosses and owners.

The real and fictional mafia largely inspires the third category of criminal in American political life. I’ll spare you my family’s tangential but colorful connection to that world for now, but the Mob Boss act is a lot of what attracts both politicians and normal(-ish) people to Trump.

Consider:

Trump expects absolute loyalty from all members of the Trump Crime Family. Betrayal or disloyalty is met with severe, often violent consequences.

Respect for the boss and the hierarchy is paramount. Disrespect, insubordination, or questioning Trump’s authority can lead to punishment or removal. It’s enforced by his capos and the various crews who serve him. Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, his sons, Fox, and the constellation of ugly enablers could be easily swapped into any Sopranos episode.

Omertà is vital to protect the organization. Trump mob members are expected to maintain silence about the group's activities, even under threat or pressure. Steve Bannon is going to jail for this reason.

The mob makes its money not on the delivery but on the threat of violence. That fear of violence maintains control, enforces rules, and intimidates rivals. January 6th was a “successful failure” for Trump. The members there that day will never forget that he was willing to have a mob storm the Capitol. After that, the threat alone sufficed for 99% of the community.

Mafia groups are a protection racket, and Trump’s mob is no exception. From Wall Street to the energy industry to NATO, protection in exchange for loyalty or money is a pure mafia move. “That’s a nice hedge fund you got there. It’d be a shame if you didn’t donate to Save America PAC LLC and there was, you know, a fire or something worse, God forbid.”

The more I consider it, the more the mob analogy obtains to Trump and his movement.

Every Republican who thinks they’re going to become made men in Trump’s mob.

The Mob boss is on trial this week and will be for ages to come, but looking at MAGA as a crime family gives one real clarity on who and what we’re facing.