I hope Trump's administration is what this country needs in order to wake up and get serious about reforming.... well, everything: the justice system, racism/sexism, money in politics, etc. Too few have paid attention to the slow erosion of freedom and justice, and good efforts have been quashed by increasingly-concentrated economic and political force.
Trump's administration will go down as one of the most corrupt in US history, but it's unique in degree, not in type. There has been a decades-long buildup to this point. Nearly everyone close to him is enriching themselves through their offices at public expense—a new level of graft—but this is the result of increasing impunity for the wealthy, the result of 40+ years of declining justice, coupled with increasing inequality and a party that decided to embrace (predominantly white) racism in order to keep a hold on the (mostly white) middle class.
We need to treat the Trump administration like the unique threat it is to a healthy society, but we can't kid ourselves that everything's fine if only we could go back to Obama (or earlier). Obama refused to prosecute any of the banks that blew up the economy, in spite of overwhelming, direct evidence of fraud. Bush gave us an illegal war of aggression against Iraq, likely in order to control Middle Eastern oil, while giving sweetheart contracts to Cheney's former company and ramping up the use of private contractors instead of paying for military and other publicly-accountable personnel. Clinton's NAFTA "free trade" deal was designed to benefit wealthy financiers over nearly everyone else (and especially small manufacturers and farmers). And his "entitlement" and criminal justice "reform" were a legitimation of racist and classist stereotypes. And if we go back even farther, there are Nixon and Reagan committing treason in order to win the presidency (the latter with the help of Bush Sr as CIA director at the time). Trump's behavior is unique only in that he's openly crass and willing to commit any number of former presidential crimes all at once instead of just one here or there. And he doesn't care what his cronies do, as long as they get away with it or don't harm his own schemes. E.g., as Jonathan Chait lists:
The entire Trump era has been a festering pit of barely disguised ongoing corruption. But the whole sordid era has not had a 24-hour period quite like the orgy of criminality which we have just experienced. The events of the last day alone include:
(1) The trial of Paul Manafort, which has featured the accusation that President Trump’s campaign manager had embezzled funds, failed to report income, and falsified documents. His partner and fellow Trump campaign aide, Rick Gates, confessed to participating in all these crimes, as well as to stealing from Manafort.
(2) Yesterday, Forbes reported that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may have stolen $120 million from his partners and customers. Meanwhile Ross has maintained foreign holdings in his investment portfolio that present a major conflict of interest with his public office. (The “Don’t worry, Wilbur Ross would never do anything unethical just to pad his bottom line” defense is likely to be, uh, unconvincing to the many people filing suit against Ross for allegedly doing exactly that.)
(3) Also yesterday, ProPublica reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs is being effectively run by three Trump cronies, none of whom have any official government title or public accountability. The three, reports the story, have “used their influence in ways that could benefit their private interests.”
(4) And then, this morning, Representative Chris Collins was arrested for insider trading. Collins had been known to openly boast about making millions of dollars for his colleagues with his insider knowledge. He is charged with learning of an adverse FDA trial, and immediately calling his son — from the White House! — urging him to sell his holdings.