Nobel economist aghast at 'horrifying' report on Trump's corruption: 'My God'

A Nobel Prize-winning economist was aghast on Sunday while reacting to new reporting about President Donald Trump's corruption.

Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008 for his work on trade theory, said in a new video on his Substack that the report the New York Times published on Sunday about an agreement struck between the U.S. and a mining company in Kazakhstan where his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, as well as the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stand to financially benefit was "horrifying." He also noted that it revealed how "departed" the Trump administration is from American history.

"I’m not a political expert — sometimes I think nobody is — but my God, again, this corruption is so blatant," Krugman said. "And it does resonate with people. It’s really clear that corruption at the top and the sense that ordinary people are paying the price while people with power enrich themselves is an effective popular issue."

Krugman added that the kind of corruption detailed in the Times' report has brought down Trump allies such as Viktor Orban, the former dictator of Hungary. He described that comparison as one of the "hopeful signs for what may happen to America."

"So here we are, just to remind you that this scandal, it’s a huge thing. It’s page one in the New York Times, but in a way it’s actually kind of ordinary, since even this size of scandal is happening every few weeks these days," Krugman continued.

"Do not make the mistake of treating what’s going on as in any sense normal," he added. "This is hugely abnormal, and I believe that the American people will understand that it’s abnormal even if pundits get bored of talking about the corruption. So drive it home, maybe for make benefit American people instead of the Trump family."