Pay for play, Quid Pro Qou, cronyism may all be "strictly legal but so is killing children, running a deficit, and K street lobbyists writing bills and donating to political campaigns. The question is not if an action is "strictly legal" but if it is moral and right. I am not all that interested in a more effective corruption, but in the elimination of it.
“I am not all that interested in a more effective corruption, but in the elimination of it.”
That was what Trump was doing, clearing the decks so he could run his business. He kept them out of his way. Substitute politicians for mafia and you can see what his goal was — warding off a shake-down. Price of doing business on that level.