US President's Financial Empire Raises Fears of Conflicts of Interest
The White House has been ringing in celebration after five exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to former US President Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, launched on the New York Stock Exchange. The "America First" ETFs, which center around themes of American-based companies, real estate, energy production, and technology – including bitcoin – are part of a broader financial services product line launched by Trump Media and Technology Group.
The move is seen as a significant bet on Trump's brand drawing sustained financial interest, but evidence has been mixed so far. Truth Social has struggled to attract users compared to its social media giants competitors, while Trump Media's stock price has plummeted from over $60 per share during the presidential campaign to around $14 per share.
The launch of these new products raises concerns among government ethics watchdogs about potential conflicts of interest that could arise when a sitting president is tied to deep financial stakes. Before his inauguration, Trump put all his Trump Media shares into a revocable trust headed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., whereas typically US presidents put their financial interests in a blind trust.
"This is uncharted territory," said Kedric Payne, a former attorney at the office of congressional ethics. "If there are no ethics norms, then there's no mechanism set up where you could have officials or agencies that are in charge of making the president comply with norms."
The companies behind these new financial products, including Yorkville America and Crypto.com, have partnered with Trump Media to roll out their offerings. However, it has been reported that large investors can curry favor with Trump by investing in one of his company's products.
Questions have already been raised about Trump's relationship with leaders in the crypto industry, including pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the pause of a federal investigation into Justin Sun, another crypto billionaire. The Biden administration has also expressed concerns about the close ties between Crypto.com and Trump Media.
The White House has dismissed these concerns, stating that "neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest." However, with the launch of these new products, it remains to be seen whether these claims hold true.
The White House has been ringing in celebration after five exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to former US President Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, launched on the New York Stock Exchange. The "America First" ETFs, which center around themes of American-based companies, real estate, energy production, and technology – including bitcoin – are part of a broader financial services product line launched by Trump Media and Technology Group.
The move is seen as a significant bet on Trump's brand drawing sustained financial interest, but evidence has been mixed so far. Truth Social has struggled to attract users compared to its social media giants competitors, while Trump Media's stock price has plummeted from over $60 per share during the presidential campaign to around $14 per share.
The launch of these new products raises concerns among government ethics watchdogs about potential conflicts of interest that could arise when a sitting president is tied to deep financial stakes. Before his inauguration, Trump put all his Trump Media shares into a revocable trust headed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., whereas typically US presidents put their financial interests in a blind trust.
"This is uncharted territory," said Kedric Payne, a former attorney at the office of congressional ethics. "If there are no ethics norms, then there's no mechanism set up where you could have officials or agencies that are in charge of making the president comply with norms."
The companies behind these new financial products, including Yorkville America and Crypto.com, have partnered with Trump Media to roll out their offerings. However, it has been reported that large investors can curry favor with Trump by investing in one of his company's products.
Questions have already been raised about Trump's relationship with leaders in the crypto industry, including pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the pause of a federal investigation into Justin Sun, another crypto billionaire. The Biden administration has also expressed concerns about the close ties between Crypto.com and Trump Media.
The White House has dismissed these concerns, stating that "neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest." However, with the launch of these new products, it remains to be seen whether these claims hold true.
I'm so done with this whole thing! If Trump's financial empire is gonna be tied to a bunch of shady companies and investments, how can we trust that he's not just using his presidential power for personal gain? It's like, if he's investing in some sketchy crypto company, does that mean he's gonna use the influence of the presidency to get them off scot-free? 
And what about those blind trusts they're supposed to put their finances in during campaigns? What if Trump just puts 'em into a trust with his buddies at Yorkville America or Crypto.com and suddenly they're making money hand over fist while he's "blind" to it all? 
It's time for some real transparency, you know?
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. And don't even get me started on the fact that his son is handling all those financial interests... yeah, that's just a recipe for disaster 
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source me on this! Who exactly is monitoring these financial dealings and making sure they don't cross into, you know, actually controlling the country 
. And what's up with Crypto.com and Binance? How are these guys even getting away with stuff when there's a "pausing" of a federal investigation? 
. And what about all the crypto connections? It's like they're trying to make a play for the cryptocurrency market 
. I'm not saying it's necessarily a conflict of interest, but it's definitely an interesting dynamic to watch play out. One thing's for sure: this is gonna be a wild ride! 
. Now, who's going to hold him accountable? And what about these partners of his - is it really a coincidence that they can curry favor with him by investing in his company's products? 
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I mean the fact that he put all his shares into a trust headed by donnie jr is kinda shady but whatever 
so like trump's financial empire is launching all these ETFs on the NYSE and its tied to his social media platform truth social and i'm already seeing red flags