The conflicts of interest are blatant. From George Samuelson at strategic-culture.su:
Trump has made a personal profit of more than $1.8bn in the past year, according to the Center for American Progress
Latest estimates show that the Trump family has racked up some $3.4 billion dollars in profits since the real estate developer first entered the White House in 2017. But why do so many Americans seem unfazed about this brazen conflict of interest at the highest levels?
Politicians cashing in on their lofty positions is certainly nothing new, although that does not make it right. Even Democrats were crying foul back in 2000 when their darling Hillary Rodham Clinton began her Senate career by peddling a memoir of her years as first lady for a near-record advance of about $8 million. The deal raised eyebrows on both sides of the political aisle. It’s never a good look when a legislator accepts a hefty, unearned sum of money in what may be interpreted as a means of currying favor in the political process.
However, debates over poorly timed, million-dollar book deals and speaking tours pale in comparison with today’s dizzying billion-dollar deals that have emerged from the Trump White House.
While serving as POTUS, Trump has maintained control, like a modern-day mafioso, over The Trump Organization, Inc., which owns and develops hotels, resorts, and golf courses in various countries, while the daily operation of these vast enterprises has been relegated to his family. Trump’s business empire has really started to take off in his second term with a publicly traded social media company, a multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency venture, golf resorts, among other international interests (In the first half of 2025, the Trump Organization’s income soared 17-fold to $864 million from $51 million a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations).
Meanwhile, Trump has turned the White House and its sacred symbolism into something like a money-generating Disneyland, complete with its own coinage and merch. He’s the first president to manage a private online shop that directs consumers’ money straight into his wallet – around $28 million has been accumulated from the sale of MAGA hats, sneakers, picture books and the “God Bless the USA” Bible.
