Two American Princelings
In China, “Princelings” are the children and other relatives of powerful government leaders who amass enormous wealth by trading on their family relationships.
As Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump rack up huge financial deals around the world for the Trump business portfolio, they have become America’s own Princelings.
A New York Times investigation, detailed a list of new deals the brothers have been making, including a luxury hotel in Dubai; a residential tower in Saudi Arabia; a villa complex and golf course in Qatar; a private club in Washington, DC, and two cryptocurrency deals in the United States.
The foreign deals the American Princelings are forging are reportedly being made with the Trump Organization. Some deals also involve World Liberty Financial, a Trump family cryptocurrency venture.
Republicans in Congress who investigated and castigated Hunter Biden’s deals with foreign interests, and falsely claimed the deals benefited President Biden, have gone silent when it comes to Trump’s globe-trotting sons who are out making lucrative deals with foreign interests that reportedly will benefit the President as well, and that could impact our nation’s foreign policy.
Money has long played a corrupting role in our politics, but nothing – nothing – comes close to what Trump and his family are doing to turn the presidency into their own multimillion-dollar bonanza.
One example: Freight Technologies, an international trucking company, announced last week that it will invest up to $20 million in the $Trump meme coin calling the investment an “effective way” to have its issues heard. That influence-seeking investment will line the President’s pockets.
Wealthy moguls are also currying presidential favor by shelling out $1.5 million to dine with the President at one of his clubs. Want a one-on-one meeting with President Trump? That will set you back $5 million, according to Wired.
The Trump family’s crypto connections and foreign ties deserve a careful look.
As of mid-March, according to a new report, President Trump’s crypto assets were valued at $2.9 billion, representing approximately 37 percent of his total wealth.
And while conflict-of-interest rules for executive branch officials don’t apply to a President, that doesn’t absolve Trump of the massive conflicts posed by his business’s financial benefits, including the foreign and crypto deals being forged by his sons.
President Trump is a walking conflict of interest.
While Trump is amassing huge amounts of wealth from cryptocurrency ventures, his Administration has loosened regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, shuttered a Justice Department unit targeting crypto fraud, and made other moves to benefit the industry.
Coincidence?
Meanwhile, the $Trump meme coin provides a perfect vehicle both for enriching the President and buying influence. A Bloomberg analysis determined that a majority of the top $Trump purchasers are foreign.
Trump’s financial gains also can bump up against the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.
The Clause prohibits any person holding a government office from accepting any present, emolument, office, or title from any “King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent. The purpose of the Clause is to prevent a foreign power from providing benefits to government officials and obtaining influence and results in return.
To the extent the President is receiving financial benefits from foreign governments, such as from the purchase of the $Trump meme coin, then these benefits likely violate the emoluments prohibition.
Americans are left to wonder if foreign policy and other key decisions are being made in our nation’s best interests or in the personal interests of Trump and his family financial portfolio.
There is a word for what Trump is doing by auctioning off access to the presidency and cashing in: it’s called grift.
Top $Trump meme coin buyers, for instance, have recently been offered an invitation to an “intimate private” dinner with the President. The biggest investors will also receive a “Special VIP” White House tour. The news of these perks reportedly caused the $Trump meme coin value to surge by more than 50 percent. Today, the $Trump meme coin, alone, is valued at $2.5 billion.
The use of the White House as a prop for Trump’s own financial gain is about as tacky, unseemly, and tawdry as a President can get, not to mention it’s wrong.
By turning the presidency into just another backdrop for the Trump business, Trump and his sons – the American Princelings – have demeaned, dishonored, and disgraced the most powerful office in the world. Congress should put a stop to it. But Republicans, who hold the majority in both chambers, remain conspicuously silent.
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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s and other recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.
