Trump defends – President Donald Trump defended his children’s potential access to “inside information” tied to his businesses, in remarks that landed awkwardly after financial disclosures showed he pulled in more than $2 billion last year. The comments came days after report
President Donald Trump went after the conflict-of-interest question on Thursday with an argument that got sharper—and stranger—the longer he spoke. In a wide-ranging interview aired the same day. Trump described how his sons and other family members running the Trump Organization could benefit from situations that could overlap with his office. suggesting that “inside information” would be hard to avoid because of the presidency’s reach.
The remarks landed just days after financial disclosures revealed Trump raked in more than $2 billion last year from his business ventures. The disclosure figures show Trump took in $2.2 billion in 2024 from his various holdings. with the majority of that money coming from his family’s cryptocurrency businesses.
The back-and-forth started during an interview that aired Thursday on CNBC. where Joe Kernen appeared to assert that avoiding conflicts of interest would be next to impossible for Trump and his family. Kernen said compliance with the law would require Trump to “recuse” himself from any issue that could relate to his businesses.
Trump’s response leaned into the very problem he was being asked about. He said he “feels badly in a way for his kids” because of the conflicts they may face as they run the Trump Organization—primarily run by his sons, Don Jr. and Eric Trump.
“Every time my kids do. if they invest in a stock. or they go and do a bill. anything they do. because the presidency is so powerful. so big. everything. if they buy a cupcake company. well. the energy to make the cupcakes is sort of like. how’s my energy policy. so therefore you have a conflict. ” Trump said.
He then escalated the point. “Almost anything they do, if they want to buy a truck, if they want to buy, you know, if they buy an energy-efficient truck, they have inside information. So it’s pretty tough in that sense,” he continued.
The scale of the financial ties at issue makes Trump’s framing harder to ignore. The disclosure indicates roughly $1.4 billion came from World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s main cryptocurrency business, and another large payout came from the sale of his $TRUMP memecoin.
Pressed by reporters outside Air Force One on Wednesday about the financial disclosures. Trump brushed off the question while steering the conversation toward the stock market. “I purposely, I never speak to any of the people that run the money,” he said. “You know why I’m profiting?. Because the stock market is going up.”.
That claim, however, conflicts with a prior account from The New York Times. The paper reported that Trump meets with his financial advisers once a year for updates on his various accounts.
Taken together. Trump’s defenses pull in two directions: he argues that his family’s actions can’t realistically be separated from the presidency—down to the idea that buying everyday business assets could involve “inside information”—while also insisting he does not speak to the people who run the money and attributing his profit largely to the stock market.
The core tension now sits in the gap between what Trump says is unavoidable for his children and what he says about his own distance from the financial decision-making. In between those positions is the same thread: how a family-run business empire can intersect with an office powerful enough. in Trump’s telling. to make almost any investment or purchase look like it sits in the orbit of insider knowledge.
United States politics Donald Trump conflicts of interest Trump family Don Jr. Eric Trump Trump Organization financial disclosures World Liberty Financial $TRUMP memecoin CNBC Joe Kernen Air Force One
So his kids are just gonna use insider info? Cool cool.
I read the headline and that’s enough lol. How is this not a conflict like at all. If you’re president, you can’t be playing both sides with your businesses.
Wait, I’m confused because they said $2.2 billion and then something about crypto. Like are they saying the presidency affects whether his kids can invest?? That sounds made up, but also I guess it’s technically their companies so… idk I’m lost.
This is what happens when a billionaire becomes president, the whole thing is basically a giant loophole factory. He kept talking about “inside information” like it’s just normal family business. Also recuse from issues?? But then he’s like “inside info hard to avoid” which is basically admitting you can’t avoid it. Then people act surprised he made money off it, like come on.