Gold-plated watches and electoral map sneakers: Trump’s newest merchandise raises conflict of interest questions

(CNN) — In the two months since the election, President-elect Donald Trump has urged his nearly 8.5 million followers on Truth Social to buy limited edition guitars that bear his signature and Trump-themed fragrances that “represent winning.”

A $899 gold-plated inauguration edition was recently added to the line of Trump watches he first launched this summer and his nascent sneaker brand is now offering footwear featuring a state-by-state map of his electoral victory.

The post-election sales pitches illustrate just how closely Trump’s personal business interests are entwined with his politics. But less than two weeks from taking the oath of office, the Republican billionaire and the Trump Organization have not offered details to the public on how precisely they intend to wall off those varied interests – which range from hotels, golf clubs and licensing deals to a new cryptocurrency venture – from his job as president.

So far, Trump has transferred his shares in Truth Social’s parent company into a longstanding trust of which he is the sole beneficiary, according to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is the trustee. Ethics experts say those steps fall well short of the blind trusts and divestitures from private business interests that other presidents have used to avoid ethical conflicts with their job.

And there are signs that the Trump Organization will erect fewer limits on its activity than it did during Trump’s first four years in the White House. His son, Eric Trump – who oversees the company day-to-day – has said the company will continue to pursue business opportunities overseas, dropping a self-imposed prohibition on foreign deals that the company said was in place during the first term.

The marketing activity around Donald Trump’s return to the White House “indicates that there is clearly a focus on monetizing the presidency,” said Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center watchdog group. “The concern is that he will now use the presidency to benefit himself and his family beyond what is imaginable.”

Given that Trump will not face voters again as a presidential candidate, there’s little incentive for him to erect new guardrails against potential self-dealing, Payne added. His supporters were “well aware of the conflicts” and did not view it as disqualifying Trump from the presidency, he said.

In a statement, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the incoming president did not enter politics “for profit,” pointing to his decision to step away from running his company during his first term and donate his $400,000 annual presidential salary.

“President Trump removed himself from his multi-billion-dollar real estate empire to run for office and forewent his government salary, becoming the first President to actually lose net worth while serving in the White House,” said Leavitt, who is slated to serve as press secretary in the second Trump White House. “Unlike most politicians, President Trump didn’t get into politics for profit – he’s fighting because he loves the people of this country and wants to make America great again.”

Transition officials did not answer questions about plans by the president-elect to avoid potential conflicts.

Eric Trump and other company officials did not respond to inquiries from CNN about the company’s plans for a second Trump term. In a recent interview with CNBC, the younger Trump said he takes ethical safeguards very seriously and said the incoming president “is going to have nothing to do with the company.”

Blurred lines

The intersection of Trump’s political ambitions and his family’s far-reaching business ventures, however, was on full display Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago. As a stiff morning breeze chilled the estate’s patio, Eric Trump met outside with Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire developer from the United Arab Emirates who built Trump International Golf Club in Dubai.

Shortly afterward, the former president appeared alongside Sajwani in the gilded confines of his Florida residence, where the pair announced the Emirati tycoon’s pledge to pour at least $20 billion into US data center development. Addressing a small group of reporters, Trump doubled down on his pledge to streamline federal permitting for corporate ventures exceeding $1 billion – like Sajwani’s proposed projects – while Eric Trump lingered in the back of the room.

The Trump family has pursued new business ventures even as the elder Trump pursued the presidency, including World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency platform that Eric Trump promoted last month at a conference in the United Arab Emirates. Its investors include cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, whom the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023 accused of fraud and other violations of securities laws. In a post on X, Sun said he had invested $30 million in the Trump family firm. Sun and his companies have denied wrongdoing.

The company could stand to benefit if Trump follows through on a pledge to be a crypto-friendly president. Trump has already announced that a close ally and donor, tech investor David Sacks, will oversee cryptocurrency policies in his White House.

A business partner in the family’s cryptocurrency venture, Steve Witkoff, also joined the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. Witkoff, slated to serve as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, spoke briefly to reporters about his early work with the Biden administration to negotiate a hostage deal between Hamas and Israel.

Presidents are exempt from criminal and civil conflict of interest laws that apply to other government officials, but previous presidents have taken steps to avoid even the appearance of benefitting from their official position. George W. Bush, for instance, sold his stake in the Texas Rangers baseball team as he prepared to seek the presidency.

After winning the presidency in 2016, Trump took public steps to address ethical concerns by putting his business holdings in a trust. But ethics watchdogs criticized his decision to retain ownership of the empire, which was run by his adult sons and a longtime executive in the company while he was in office. At the time, Trump officials also pledged not to pursue any new foreign deals during his presidency. This time, Eric Trump has said the company will not work with foreign governments but will continue to engage in overseas business.

An ethics policy covering members of Trump’s presidential transition team, meanwhile, excluded an explicit pledge from the president to avoid conflicts of interest.

The potential conflicts have only extended in the time since Trump first left the White House through the final days of the 2024 campaign. Trump – who has long cashed in on the fame he amassed as a Manhattan socialite and celebrity developer – leveraged his name to profit off his presidential campaign unlike any of his predecessors. He launched a flurry of new businesses selling shoes, watches, coins and NFT trading cards through licensing arrangements.

There is little public information available about Trump’s new business deals. Some of his business partners are hidden by opaque limited liability corporations. For example, CNN’s attempts to track down the maker of Trump watches – which includes a $100,000 tourbillion timepiece – ended at a non-descript office space in Wyoming, a state with notably lax public disclosure laws.

Trump has yet to commit to sharing more details about his new business partners. Nor has he indicated whether he will continue selling Trump-themed merchandise once he is sworn in later this month.

The Trump Organization, however, is capitalizing on the milestone that his return to the White House represents. The company’s Trump Store is selling polo shirts, glasses, mugs and other swag emblazoned with the numbers “45” and “47,” marking his places in the line of US presidents.

CNN’s David Goldman contributed to this report.

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