WATCH: Hickenlooper Takes Aim at Trump’s “Golden Age of Corruption” in Senate Floor Speech

Hickenlooper: “It’s an era of spoils and bribery for the powerful and well-connected, while you are left behind.” WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper took to the Senate floor to call out President Trump for his corruption and the cost-of-living emergency he’s created. “Nearly 20 months into his second term, President Trump calls this period in American history a ‘Golden Age,’” said Hickenlooper on the Senate floor. “Golden – for who? For billionaires. For Mar-a-Lago members. For the president’s cronies. Not for farmers on the Western Slope, small business owners in Colorado Springs, or working families in Denver.” Watch his full speech HERE . “ Housing. Gas. Groceries. When everything costs more, it’s hard for Americans to plan for today, let alone tomorrow. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are abandoning long-term financial milestones and cutting back just to get by,” Hickenlooper continued. “But President Trump’s Wall Street friends aren’t cutting back. Not at all. His company is charging them up to $100,000 a month for faster access to his Truth Social posts that routinely influence stock prices. That’s more than the median American household makes in an entire year. All to give greedy investment bankers another leg up. “This isn’t normal. This isn’t simply corruption. This is a sellout – of you, of America, of the office we used to respect in this country.” Hickenlooper blasted the president for personally profiting off his war in Iran that has claimed the lives of 18 servicemembers and cost Americans billions. Hickenlooper has introduced a War Powers Resolution to direct President Trump to terminate U.S. military hostilities against Iran and has voted repeatedly to end the president’s war. “ While Americans are shelling out over $100 billion more in energy costs since President Trump started his illegal war with Iran. He has raked in millions of dollars off oil and gas stocks. He’s not only enriching himself, but his billionaire buddies, too.” He highlighted how the president and his family’s self-dealing extends to artificial intelligence and data centers while Americans pay higher energy prices. “Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm has invested millions in AI companies. One of the UAE’s most powerful royals has invested half a billion dollars in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture. “So, it should come as no surprise that President Trump has rolled back AI safeguards and authorized Big Tech to sell some of America’s most advanced AI chips to the Emiratis. Or that his Big Beautiful Bill cut $1 trillion from your healthcare while handing businesses massive tax breaks to fuel investments in AI.” He continued, “Your energy bills are spiking. You’re worried your job could be next. Your farm is already facing a water shortage. Meanwhile, billionaires have turned AI into a horse race focused only on who is winning, with too little thought for humanity and who gets left behind.” He also called out President Trump for ignoring the soaring housing costs while his son-in-law’s invests in luxury housing across the world. “Nearly half of all U.S. renters now spend roughly a third of their income on housing costs. Nine in ten young people say it’s harder to buy a property now than a generation before,” said Hickenlooper. “Instead of building more affordable housing here, the Trump family is building more housing in Saudi Arabia. The president’s son-in-law is using his position as special envoy for peace to cut a $3 billion-dollar sweetheart deal to build high-end housing some 6,000 miles away. He continued,” While people on the Eastern Plains are unsure how they’ll ever afford a home, the Trump family is shoring up housing in the Middle East.” Throughout August recess, Hickenlooper traveled across Colorado and heard from Coloradans getting crushed by Trump’s cost-of-living emergency. Ranchers and farmers described how the increasing costs caused by Trump’s war in Iran are crushing them. Healthcare providers highlighted how the Republican’s cruel healthcare cuts are undermining the care they can provide for their community and how families are now paying double for their insurance. Hickenlooper has fought against the president’s disastrous budget bill that gutted health care to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. He’s doing a state-wide tour of local hospitals and clinics to meet with Coloradans and hear how they are grappling with the increasing costs of healthcare. He helped defeat Trump’s effort to sell off millions of acres of public lands to pay for his lavish tax cuts. He is working to permanently end Trump’s slush fund for Tina Peters, Proud Boys, and January 6th rioters. For a full video of Hickenlooper’s remarks, click HERE . A full transcript of his remarks as prepared for delivery is available below: Mr. President, In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump traveled to Gettysburg where he vowed to “drain the swamp.” “The system is designed for one reason: to keep the corrupt establishment and special interests in power,” he told the crowd. He then declared: “I have no special interest but you, the American voter.” In hindsight, that wasn’t a promise. It was a projection. Millions of Americans voted for President Trump in that election and again in 2024 because they believed he would end the corruption in Washington and lower costs. Nearly 20 months into his second term, President Trump calls this period in American history a “Golden Age.” Golden – for who? For billionaires. For Mar-a-Lago members. For the president’s cronies. Not for farmers on the Western Slope, small business owners in Colorado Springs, or working families in Denver. What we’re living through isn’t a “golden age” of America. It’s a golden age of corruption. It’s an era of spoils and bribery for the powerful and well-connected, while YOU are left behind. Americans do what they can. The president and his cronies do what they want. Take housing. Nearly half of all U.S. renters now spend roughly a third of their income on housing costs. Nine in ten young people say it’s harder to buy a property now than a generation before. Instead of building more affordable housing here, the Trump family is building more housing in Saudi Arabia. The president’s son-in-law is using his position as special envoy for peace to cut a $3 billion-dollar sweetheart deal to build high-end housing some 6,000 miles away. While people on the Eastern Plains are unsure how they’ll ever afford a home, the Trump family is shoring up housing in the Middle East. Then there’s energy. While Americans are shelling out over $100 billion more in energy costs since President Trump started his illegal war with Iran… He has raked in millions of dollars off oil and gas stocks. He’s not only enriching himself, but his billionaire buddies, too. The president has spent more than a billion dollars of YOUR taxpayer money to cancel clean energy projects, all while his neighbor in Palm Beach stands to cash in on a massive payout. Your energy bills go up. His friends’ bank accounts go up faster. And that pattern of self-dealing extends to artificial intelligence. Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm has invested millions in AI companies. One of the UAE’s most powerful royals has invested half a billion dollars in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture. So, it should come as no surprise that President Trump has rolled back AI safeguards and authorized Big Tech to sell some of America’s most advanced AI chips to the Emiratis. Or that his Big Beautiful Bill cut $1 trillion from your healthcare while handing businesses massive tax breaks to fuel investments in AI. Your energy bills are spiking. You’re worried your job could be next. Your farm is already facing a water shortage. Meanwhile, billionaires have turned AI into a horse race focused only on who is winning, with too little thought for humanity and who gets left behind. But now, even some of the biggest names in AI are warning that we’re moving too fast. The question is: Will we listen? Will we act? Housing. Gas. Groceries. When everything costs more, it’s hard for Americans to plan for today, let alone tomorrow. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are abandoning long-term financial milestones and cutting back just to get by. But President Trump’s Wall Street friends aren’t cutting back. Not at all. His company is charging them up to $100,000 a month for faster access to his Truth Social posts that routinely influence stock prices. That’s more than the median American household makes in an entire year. All to give greedy investment bankers another leg up. This isn’t normal. This isn’t simply corruption. This is a sellout – of you, of America, of the office we used to respect in this country. In his first year back in office, President Trump made over two billion dollars. So, what has he learned from his first term? The answer is clear. It’s not how to lead or how to make life more affordable for Americans. It’s how to leverage the presidency for personal profit. And that’s what it all boils down to. Profit over peace. Profit over people. Profit over principle. That’s the opposite of what government service should be about. Over the last two months, I’ve traveled through the San Luis Valley, through Colorado’s mountain communities, and everywhere in between to hear what Coloradans need at this moment. They need leaders who will tackle the cost-of-living emergency. Leaders who will help keep their businesses open amid difficult headwinds and their farms afloat through record drought. They don’t need leaders who only look after themselves and other billionaires. They don’t need leaders focused on renaming lakes and building monuments to themselves. This president can’t seem to get out of his own way. When we passed the most consequential housing bill in decades, opening the door to homeownership for millions of Americans and stopping Wall Street from buying up homes that belong to working families, President Trump refused to sign it. When we passed a unanimous bill to deliver clean, reliable drinking water to 50,000 Coloradans – many of whom voted for President Trump – he vetoed it. When we made a once-in-a-generation investment to address climate change and preserve a future for our kids, the president and his administration cancelled tens of billions in grant funding that would have helped our environment while creating good paying jobs. If we want to revive the American dream, we must start by undoing the damage this administration has done. President Trump has started a forever war with Iran that’s already costing American lives, sent prices climbing, and drained our military stockpiles. Let’s end it. President Trump has imposed crippling, illegal tariffs that are driving up costs for families and small businesses alike. Let’s end them. President Trump’s immigration agenda has diverted billions in federal funding from healthcare to lawless immigration enforcement executed by undertrained officers. Let’s end it. All of it. And let’s get back to the promise that another president once made at Gettysburg: a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. That’s how we move our country forward. That’s how we begin to make your life better again. Thank you, Mr. President. ###