WASHINGTON — Look up “corrupt” in the dictionary and you could expect to find an illustration of Donald Trump looking right back ― yet that has not kept the president from repeatedly calling others corrupt in recent weeks. Trump has given his daughter and son-in-law prominent White House jobs, steers lobbyists and political groups seeking his favor toward using his Pennsylvania Avenue hotel, and even successfully pushed the U.S. government to host the next G-7 meeting at his own golf resort, which will put tens of millions of American tax dollars into his own cash registers next June. “He has no shame,” said Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman who is running against Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. “He’s incapable of shame. That’s not normal.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS President Donald Trump speaks about Turkey as he arrives at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 17, 2019.

Indeed, such actions, had they been taken by a mayor, a county executive or a governor, would in all likelihood result in state or federal public corruption charges. While laws and rules vary by state and locality, ethics laws generally prohibit public officials from profiting from their offices. Giving oneself a large government contract ― as Trump’s White House announced Thursday with the selection of his troubled Doral, Florida, golf course as the site of the next summit of the world’s largest democratic economies ― would almost certainly result in a criminal prosecution, ethics experts said. “This is a president who believes the powers of the presidency are bestowed on him to advance his own personal interests, political and profit-seeking, rather than those of the American people,” said Robert Weissman, president of the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen. But as the sitting president, Trump is immune from both ethics laws and criminal prosecution, and not only has he openly engaged in nepotism and self-dealing, he has, in recent weeks, started accusing political opponents and the news media of “corruption.” At an Oct. 2 news conference, for example, he called former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter “stone, cold corrupt.” At an Oct. 11 rally in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he broadened that to all Democrats: “The radical Democrats’ policies are crazy. Their politicians are corrupt.” In an Oct. 14 statement he posted on Twitter, Trump called The New York Times corrupt. Just two days later, during a photo opportunity with the visiting president of Italy, he called his predecessor Barack Obama corrupt, as well as the entire 2016 election. Others Trump has labeled “corrupt” in recent weeks: former FBI director James Comey, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, the entire Mueller investigation into the help Russia gave Trump in winning the 2016 election, all of the news media, California Democratic congressman Adam Schiff and CNN.

He is the most corrupt president in modern times. He has to convince his followers that everyone is corrupt so they will ignore his corruption. Jennifer Horn, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party

To Trump critics, the president’s attacks are part of a predictable pattern: Accuse others of the inappropriate behavior that he himself engages in. Bandy Lee, among a group of mental health professionals who have been warning of Trump’s state of mind for years, said Trump is exhibiting typical behavior for a “paranoid, delusional” leader. “He accuses others exactly of what he is responsible for,” said Lee, a Yale Medical School professor of psychiatry. “It is a psychological defense called ‘projection.’” Josh Schwerin, a former spokesman for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, recalled Trump’s response when Clinton accused Trump of behaving like Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s puppet. “No puppet. No puppet. You’re the puppet,” Trump replied at the third and final presidential debate. “He accuses other people of doing the bad things he’s doing,” Schwerin said. “He is the most corrupt president in modern times,” said Jennifer Horn, a former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “He has to convince his followers that everyone is corrupt so they will ignore his corruption.” The White House did not respond to HuffPost queries regarding Trump’s self-dealing and nepotism. One top Republican National Committee member, though, said he is not bothered by any of Trump’s behavior, and instead attacked the news media for not reporting sufficiently on the Clinton Foundation, Hunter Biden or the money former Obama has made since leaving office. “A few dollars on his hotels, which are actually a legitimate business, I’m not going to lose much sleep over,” said Shawn Steel, a longtime RNC member from California, urging more scrutiny of Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney announces that the G-7 will be held at Trump National Doral on Oct. 17, 2019.