Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 200

Translator: Dreamscribe[The Birth of America's First Female President?]

Trump scowled at the news headline playing since the morning and switched off the TV.

"What the hell is going on? Why do Hillis's approval ratings keep climbing?"

"Every media outlet is spotlighting Hillis right now. They're hyping her up as the first female president in American history."

"And that's supposed to justify making some woman nobody's ever heard of president out of nowhere?!"

Looking at Hillis's political career, it wasn't particularly long.

She hadn't done anything especially noteworthy, either.

She was a candidate the Democrats had scrambled to put forward, having assumed Aiden would run for re-election and let their guard down.

Yet her approval ratings were now surpassing Trump's.

"What is our Republican Party even doing? I told you to come up with a way, any way, for me to overtake her in the polls! Do you want to hand the presidency to the Democrats again?!"

"The party is doing everything it can to boost your ratings, sir. But......."

"But?"

"As long as Kwangwoon has the media in a chokehold, it's not easy. Even when we spend a fortune planting articles and posts on social media, they get buried almost instantly."

Trump had been born a Diamond spoon.

And the lesson he'd learned was that there was nothing money couldn't buy.

But this was different.

No matter how much money he poured in, there was simply no way around it as long as Kwangwoon kept blocking him.

Until now, whenever he made a bold statement, it would immediately make headlines and set social media ablaze. But now, no matter what he said, the media wouldn't carry his words, and nothing he did had any effect.

"Perhaps it's time to consider reaching out to Kwangwoon......."

"Kwangwoon is actively backing the Democrats right now. If I extend a hand, do you really think they'd take it?"

"You never know. Because right now, Kwangwoon's actions are moving in the complete opposite direction from the Democrats."

"Opposite direction?"

"The media companies Kwangwoon controls, like Wizney and Netflix, are thoroughly rejecting the PC culture the Democrats champion."

"Isn't that just because it's about entertainment value?"

When Aiden took power, the wave of political correctness had intensified dramatically.

Where once only attractive, good-looking people appeared in advertisements and media, now those on the opposite end of that spectrum were getting far more screen time.

The problem was that this had gone too far, breeding public resentment. Kwangwoon, who had never seemed to care much about PC culture, overhauled that entire system and built media companies that pursued nothing but entertainment value.

"But Kwangwoon is being very deliberate about it. Their values are the exact opposite of the Democrats'. In other words, they might actually align well with our Republican Party. There's a strong chance they actually want us in power."

So Kwangwoon wanted the Republicans in power, not the Democrats?

"......."

Trump sank into thought.

The man who would become president, ruler of the great United States, having to bow his head to a mere corporation.

How humiliating was that?

"Sir, right now you need to think about the bigger picture."

"That's right. Once you have power, the situation will be completely different from now. Just look at Congress; it's packed with our Republicans, isn't it?"

"This is about playing the long game. For now, it would be wise to at least open a dialogue with Kwangwoon. The party wants that too."

Talk now, then change the tune after winning the election.

If that was possible, bowing his head was no big deal.

Politics had always been a world of backstabbing, after all.

A smile began to curl at the corners of Trump's lips.

* * *

"Seriously though, CEO, who would you like to see win?"

We at the Prime Department often held tea time together.

My title was CEO, but these were people I'd worked with for so long, and I kept these conversations open frequently to build team unity.

"Hmm. I think Hillis would be better, personally. I'd guess everyone here feels the same way, don't they?"

It wasn't because I supported the Democrats' political ideology.

It was simply because of one person: Trump.

Trump was a loose cannon.

And people in finance hated unpredictable variables.

"Yeah, Trump being completely outside the bounds of common sense does make things tricky."

Everyone who had been around during the first Trump administration said the same thing in unison.

Trump is a lunatic, they all agreed.

"I thought the news about him wanting to nuke North Korea was just a rumor at first. But apparently Trump really was going to do it. The people around him barely managed to talk him out of it."

When Trump had been president.

All sorts of things had been said.

Rumors that President Trump was going to strike North Korea.

Rumors that he was going to launch a nuclear weapon.

The withdrawal of U.S. forces, a tenfold increase in defense cost-sharing, and so on.

It was all so far beyond common sense that everyone dismissed it as tabloid rumors fabricated by the opposition.

But after his term ended, the memoirs that came pouring out one after another confirmed it had all been true.

"At least back then there were people who could pump the brakes. But this time, there's nobody to stop him. The only people left around him are far-right hardliners, so there's really no telling what could happen."

"The biggest problem if Trump wins is trade. He's already claiming that not just our country but every nation is ripping off America, and that Tariffs need to go up, right?"

President Trump had been hammering away at trade Tariffs nonstop.

He was pushing hard for brutal trade Tariffs against every country that dared to bleed America dry.

"Based on what he's saying now, it sounds like Tariffs of at least 200% or more, and if that happens, the already shaky global economy, reeling from China's collapse, could fall apart even further."

If Trump really followed through on his campaign promises and unleashed merciless Tariff bombs on every country connected to America, the situation would become extremely dire.

"The silver lining is that the winner of this election seems all but decided. Hillis's poll numbers are high enough that it looks nearly impossible for Trump to make a comeback."

"Exactly. The media already seems convinced of Hillis's victory. China's collapse was a massive boon for the Democrats."

"You think the Democrats will win too, right, CEO?"

"......."

The staff were all laughing and chatting happily, but I couldn't join in.

"CEO?"

I drained the rest of the tea in my cup in one gulp and spoke to the staff.

"If Trump wins re-election, I want you to find out which stocks would rise, where the biggest beneficiaries would be. All of it."

"!?"

"C-CEO. Don't tell me you think Trump is going to win?"

I didn't want to believe it either.

But no matter how many times I asked my Intuition again, the answer was the same.

My Intuition had picked Trump as the winner of this election.

"But just looking at the polls, and looking at how things are going right now, it's obvious Hillis will win by a landslide."

Even when they pressed me for reasons, I couldn't answer.

Because I had no idea how Trump was supposed to win either.

"Everyone, quiet! If the CEO has made that call, then that's what it is. You've all been slacking off so much lately that you've forgotten the number one motto we should all have etched into our hearts!"

Motto? What motto?

"Everyone, abandon your ego! Just do what the CEO tells you to do. How dare you talk back."

"......."

I wasn't sure when that had become the official motto, but it was certainly effective.

"We'll get right on it!"

"Move, move!"

"Yes sir!"

After barking those orders, the Department Head flashed me a grin, gave a quick bow, and hurried off after the staff.

* * *

"Must be pretty urgent, seeing as you came all the way here."

"Who said anything about being urgent?"

"Then why else would you come to the White House? Heh."

Trump was not fond of Aiden and his utterly carefree demeanor.

With retirement on the horizon, was there nothing left for him to fear?

"I hear you're not even doing your official duties properly."

"I still do what needs doing. I just don't go out of my way. This has been a Lame-duck Administration for a while now. Next year, I'll walk out of here with a clear conscience."

"Talk about irresponsible."

"Who am I to talk about responsibility? You're the one who grabbed the nuclear football and ran off after getting elected."

"Ngh."

Aiden felt a strange thrill watching Trump squirm and fidget, not knowing what to do.

"I've heard, actually. That you're seriously trying to make contact with Kwangwoon?"

"That's right. I made our intentions clear to John, your former Chief of Staff. I told him that if they support us, we'll back everything Kwangwoon wants to do."

"And given that you're here, I take it you haven't gotten an answer yet."

"......."

It stung his pride, but it was the truth.

He had made his willingness to negotiate known to Kwangwoon, yet there had been no response whatsoever.

"But what good does it do coming to me? It's not like I have any real influence."

"Everyone knows you've become Kwangwoon's lapdog."

"Can't argue with that. But the thing is, I don't actually have any say in the matter."

"Wh-what?"

Aiden conceded so easily that Trump was caught off guard.

"There's a Guild I belong to, and it has one peculiar rule. If you don't pull your own weight, you don't even get treated like a person. You don't even get a voice."

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Heh. That's just how it is. Unfortunately, I still haven't pulled my weight yet, so I'm just a voiceless old man."

"......?"

Trump couldn't make sense of what Aiden was saying.

"Who the hell is running that Guild and pulling Kwangwoon's strings? Who has the nerve to toy with our country?"

"Nobody knows. None of us have ever seen that person's face."

"That person?"

"That's what everyone calls them. Nobody knows the name, nobody knows the face, but everyone knows they're real. The people in the Guild simply follow the words relayed by that person's proxy."

"That sounds like some kind of cult."

"Maybe so. But has there ever been a cult this powerful in all of history? You came all the way here looking for their help, didn't you?"

The most powerful cult in history.

Every cult was a fraud, but this one seemed to have something to it.

"So when exactly is Kwangwoon going to give me an answer? Are they really going to side against the Republican Party and keep pushing only the Democrats?"

"I don't know that person's intentions either. But one thing I can tell you is that the answer has already been given."

"What?"

"From what I hear, Kwangwoon recently sold off its entire position in Safe Assets and started buying into other stocks."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Everything. Word hasn't fully gotten around yet, but according to our intelligence agencies, what Kwangwoon has been snapping up like crazy are stocks connected to you."

Trump cocked his head at that.

The stocks connected to Trump were all worthless right now.

"Think about it. If you get elected, what happens to those stocks nobody would take for free?"

"You don't mean...!"

"Kwangwoon already gave you the answer. You just didn't know it yet."

"!?"

So that was it.

But then, why not just say so directly...!

"Because that would leave a trail. Kwangwoon always operates like this. Rather than giving a direct answer, they show it through action."

"Wait. Does this really mean they're going to make me president? Do you have any idea what Hillis's approval rating is right now?"

"Of course."

"Our party is pouring everything into this effort, but the gap in the polls has already widened beyond the point of no return. The word going around is that even if Kwangwoon steps in, nothing will change."

At that, Aiden let out a wry chuckle.

"From where we stand, it certainly looks that way. But the fact that Kwangwoon has given you an answer means they already have a plan in mind."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing. Just keep doing what you've always done."

Nothing at all?

"Wait, and you'll see soon enough. How Kwangwoon flips this whole board."

But Trump couldn't, for the life of him, think of a way.

"If I become president, that would be bad news for the Democrats, wouldn't it?"

"Doesn't bother me one bit. Honestly, I can't even understand why you're so obsessed with this seat."

"What?"

"I have a rough idea of what you're thinking. You plan to stab Kwangwoon in the back once you're president, don't you?"

"Th-that's......."

"But I'd advise you not to let your guard down. If even a washed-up old man like me can see it coming, do you think Kwangwoon can't?"

With a perfectly serene expression, Aiden let out a low, amused laugh.

It wasn't the look of someone who simply didn't care because it wasn't his problem.

There was a clear conviction there, a belief that once Kwangwoon set its mind to something, it would be done without fail.