When campaigning for office in 2016, Donald Trump constantly stated that he wanted to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. That is one thing I will agree that Trump has done as president. But instead of a swamp, there is now a cesspool.

First, among the advisers with whom he surrounded himself, many have since been convicted or are under indictment for crimes. He appointed Cabinet members who used their positions to promote agendas favorable to themselves and who spent taxpayers' money on special benefits for themselves, such as chartering private jets, acquiring a $30,000 lunch table for an office, using staff for personal projects, taking family members along on government trips and even directing federal contracts to family members.

To thank Trump for their jobs, they scheduled meetings and events at Trump's expensive hotels and golf courses. On top of this, they hired many lobbyists from industries and businesses who have made changes to federal regulations favorable to their former employers. Many contributors to Trump's campaign were also hired by these Cabinet members and given responsibilities for which they had no qualifications.

To understand why these advisers and Cabinet members did the things they did, one only has to look at the examples set by the man in the White House — a man whose only interest in life is enriching himself, a man who is said by his niece to have hired someone to take his college entrance exam, a man who reportedly had his father pay a doctor to write up a phony medical exam so he could avoid the draft. This man calls our military personnel who were killed, wounded or captured while fighting to defend this country "losers" and "suckers" (and this is our commander in chief).

This man has settled a lawsuit accusing him and his father of racial discrimination in housing, constantly cheated contractors out of the money due them, and even cheated his brother's children out of millions in inheritance. He is a man who has spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to fly himself, his family members, his staff and his security people to his golf clubs nearly every weekend. Whose pocket did the taxpayers' money go into for housing and feeding these aides and security people at these golf clubs?

This man defies federal law against government employees campaigning for him. This man's campaign was said by a Republican-led investigation committee in the U.S. Senate to have had interactions with Russia during the 2016 election. He is a man who settled lawsuits alleging that he cheated students out of money with his sham Trump University, a man who was ordered to pay damages for the use of money from a charitable foundation for personal expenses, and a man who pays off women to remain silent about his adulterous affairs.

He is a man who has continually lied to the citizens of this country. He has no feelings for the approximately 200,000 people who have died from COVID-19 due to his incompetence and seems only concerned with how it might affect his re-election. Donald Trump is a man who has no moral or faith values.

Larry Taylor lives in St. Peter, Minn. Star Tribune owner Glen Taylor is his brother. This commentary represents Larry Taylor's personal views.