President Donald Trump flew to Medora, North Dakota, this week to dedicate the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. It was notable for being his first trip aboard the new $400mn Boeing 747 gifted to him by the Emir of Qatar.
Trump flew out on the same day it was disclosed he had earned more than $2.2bn since his return to the White House, a windfall without precedent in US presidential history and one that has raised more troubling questions about conflicts of interest in his administration.
The size of the earnings — largely from crypto ventures — is inviting comparisons that might have seemed outlandish even a year ago. Some political scientists are beginning to see parallels between Trump’s behaviour and those of foreign strongmen in Africa and Asia notorious for their self-enrichment in office.