It sets the tone.
Corruption isn't just not a problem, it is the order of the day. It is a-ok now.
Trafficking massive amounts of narcotics using the apparatus of a nation state isn't not just a problem.....it's perfectly fine.
Defrauding people for hundreds of millions of dollars to enrich yourself gets pardoned because that is actually the preferred way of doing business for the regime.
All of these are setting a tone. Corruption, drug trafficking for profit, and fraud/grift are all socially GOOD things now. Get on board the Trump train!
This is the most nakedly criminal regime in US history, and there's truly not even a close second. And we aren't even a year into this. I don't think our treasury will survive this (don't forget that the DOJ is handing out "settlements," paid with millions upon millions of YOUR tax dollars, to anyone who sues the US government and who the regime favors, including Michael Flynn and even Trump himself. They've found and exploited a literal cheat code that lets them hand US treasury dollars directly to friends and members of the regime).
This is the "The Joker becomes the mayor" storyline in real fucking life.