Source: Washington Post
by Jack Shafer
“When Donald Trump finally gets around to erecting his proposed $34 million National Garden of American Heroes, he should reserve a tall plinth for a bronze likeness of George Washington Plunkitt. … Plunkitt might not be the equal of Thomas Jefferson or Ray Charles, two additional proposed honorees, and Trump might never have heard of him. But Plunkitt’s example has served Trump throughout his career. … Plunkitt analyzed the two ways officeholders could use their positions to garner personal wealth. They could rob directly from the public coffers, which Plunkitt conceded was wrong, calling it ‘dishonest graft.’ Or they could operate in a grayer, only slightly more ethical zone, and sell and trade political influence like a commodity. This, Plunkitt argued, was right and just, and he celebrated it as ‘honest graft.'” (07/11/25)