Trump is an outlaw. And the US system was not built for an outlaw in the Oval Office

September 6, 2026 — 1:30pm

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It’s crazy to think about Donald Trump outrunning anything.

But in legal terms, the president is an Olympic-class sprinter. He breaks the law so fast that the law is left in his orange dust.

Trump is an outlaw. And our system was not built for an outlaw in the Oval.

He zeros in on loopholes in the law and the system that are based on trust and the assumption that our leaders – and their families – will be not be voracious scam artists.

“The Constitution was built on this idea that the president would have enough decency and morality that they just wouldn’t run around exploiting the gaps,” said Trump biographer Tim O’Brien.

“And for Trump, it’s like red meat. This idea that Trump’s mentor was Roy Cohn was profoundly wrong. Donald Trump’s mentor was Fred from Day One. His father showed him how to exploit the government system, the legal system and business. His whole worldview is built around the idea that you exploit systems for personal gain, and there’s nothing wrong with doing that because the world’s populated by sharks and you just have to be the biggest........

© The Sydney Morning Herald