Donald and Melania Trump “mean to make as much money as they can” during their second stint in the White House, ethics watchdogs and experts have warned.
The new president and first lady are only days into their second administration and already are looking set to benefit financially from a number of ventures that experts say are ethically problematic.
In the days before he took office, the couple launched meme coins that triggered a record-breaking crypto rally that saw the market surge by more than half a trillion dollars over the last week.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the liberal group Public Citizen, told CNN that the second Trump administration likely wouldn’t pay “lip service” to the ethics guardrails that were in place during his first.
“This time, it feels like the gloves are off, and they have no intention of comporting themselves with the decorum and ethical standards of other administrations,” Gilbert told the network. “They truly mean to make as much as they can on the backs of the American taxpayer.”
On Tuesday Trump was challenged over his new cryptocurrency and asked by a reporter whether he would continue to sell products that benefit him during his presidency.
“Well, I don’t know if it benefited. I don’t know where it is,” Trump responded. “I don’t know much about it other than I launched it. I heard it was very successful. I haven’t checked it, where is it today?”
When the reporter informed the president that cryptocurrency had made “several billions,” Trump shrugged it off.
“Several billion? That’s peanuts for these guys.”
Norm Eisen, a former Obama White House ethics adviser, told CNN that the cryptocurrency is a “recipe for an ethics disaster.”
“Trump is taking on new conflicts in real time,” Eisen, a vocal Trump critic, said. “Any foreign government that wants to influence Donald Trump can just buy his meme coin in large quantities and let him know that they did.”
The first lady also has irons in the fire. Following the release of her memoir last year, she also has a reported $40 million Amazon documentary about herself in the works, in addition to the meme coin she launched the day before Trump’s inauguration.
“Amazon wasn’t offering any deals to Melania Trump when it looked like Donald Trump was politically terminal in January 2021,” Eisen said, adding that the deal “appears to be more of Jeff Bezos currying favor with Donald Trump.”
The family company, the Trump Organization, is being overseen by Eric Trump. He said that the company will continue to pursue deals with overseas interests, according to CNN, but that it would not pursue new deals with governments.
Any profits made from foreign government entities would be tracked and donated to the U.S. Treasury, the company reportedly pledged.
For the fourth time, the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league tournament will be hosted at the Trump National Doral Miami in April, but this is the first time the event will take place while the Republican is in office, according to CNN.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
