“I thought the Titans of industry would be the guardrails of democracy”.

Such bullshit. Industry has always loved fascism, it’s the ideal state for corporations. This explains why mainstream politics in the US has been inching towards fascist authoritanism since at least Nixon.

Trump didn’t start this… he’s just the right guy at the right time, the US would have gotten here sooner or later.

Nah, they got kompromat on her. Bribery will get you some baubles but it’s too voluntary and you can always get outbid. You gotta get coercive if you really want to own someone’s soul.