United States | Dodgy politics

Donald Trump and the art of the quid pro quo

The president likes to kneecap prosecutions of his friends

New York City Mayor Eric Adams waves and smiles.
Photograph: Reuters
|New York

Corruption in politics is occasionally clear-cut: think wads of cash handed over in a briefcase. More often it is blurry; trading favours is part of politics. This week New Yorkers were treated to an unsolicited lesson in the squishy concepts of quid and quo courtesy of their mayor and their president.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Artful dodgers”

From the February 15th 2025 edition

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