Trump Wants to "Keep America Great!" — but His Nepotism Problem Could Get in the Way

President Donald Trump already has his eyes on the 2020 election, to the point that he has a campaign slogan two years early: "Keep America Great!"

The phrase was revealed while Trump was stumping in Pennsylvania for congressional candidate Rick Saccone on March 10. The announcement came after Trump addressed the need to win in order to prevent Democrats from gaining power and focusing on impeachment.

Trump then explained the slogan — "Keep America Great, exclamation point" — as a push to "elect people who are going to back our agenda and fight for our values."

Epic crowd in Moon Township, Pennsylvania tonight. Thank you! Get out on Tuesday and VOTE for Rick @Saccone4PA18. Together, we are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/ckbCOsDQ2l

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018

Clearly, in Trump's eyes, this is greatness in practice. Another example of said greatness? Trump empowering his children in myriad ways, ingraining them in government affairs and turning a blind eye to their conflicts of interest, issues that have continually been raised for the entirety of Trump's beleaguered presidency.

Ivanka Trump, first daughter and special advisor to the president, has long been a concern, and a recent McClatchy report highlights why her position is problematic: Mrs. Trump never cut ties with the Trump Organization, the family business that Trump relinquished control over of to his sons. Since joining the White House in an unpaid role, McClatchy reports that Mrs. Trump received more than $1.5 million from involvement with the Trump Organization. Mrs. Trump has also kept her tax returns private, just like her father, which makes a paper trail of payments like these challenging to track.

The trouble doesn't end with Mrs. Trump. Her issues are compounded by the problems associated with her husband, senior advisor Jared Kushner, who has been granted access to classified information via security clearances that he is resisting giving up, presenting a problem between the president's family and staff.

And then there's Donald Trump Jr. The same Trump who sought dirt on Hillary Clinton was discovered to have a similarly scaled problem. A hedge fund manager with business ties to Trump Jr. reportedly leveraged the relationship to get a meeting with top security officials in the hopes of enabling business between the United States and Venezuela by loosening sanctions on the South American country. The Trump Organization deflected culpability, noting the relationship was "strictly personal." However, Trump Jr.'s friendship is noted in The Hill's report as the specific reason security officials were told to take the meeting.

Trump family members may downplay these affairs as minor, but they play into ongoing debates regarding President Trump's close ties and tendencies to incorporate his family in running the government. It seems to illustrate that "keeping America great" entails the approach of sultanism, a surefire way to enable corruption and erode law as balances of power go unchecked by high-powered family members. After all, there's a reason we have a history of anti-nepotism memos being issued to previous White Houses.