Donald Trump is allegedly intending to keep a stake in his businesses, despite reports he will turn over control of day-to-day operations to his adult sons, according to the New York Times. What’s more, a recent poll conducted by Bloomberg discovered a majority of Americans are totally fine with this.
The Donald previously announced he would hold a press conference in mid December, during which he formally comment on his business interests. A week later, ABC News reported Trump was claiming he’d sold off all of his stocks in June — despite there being no evidence to support his claim. Yet the new NYT report suggests the Trumps are looking for legal ways to separate themselves from their companies, but not entirely, as pressure mounts for the president-elect to remove any and all possible conflicts of interest come January. Then again, the laws are a little lax when it comes to conflict of interest:
The federal law that prevents federal employees from making decisions involving their financial interests exempts the president and vice president, though no recent sitting president has maintained foreign financial holdings as extensive as Mr. Trump’s.
For his part, Trump has said he “[feels] it is visually important” to have no conflict of interests between his businesses and the White House. Though he has keep people guessing, especially after he told the NYT in November “the law’s totally on my side” since “the president can’t have a conflict of interest.”
Daughter Ivanka Trump is also looking for ways to separate herself from her businesses, as many believe here husband Jared Kushner will take a role in her father’s administration. Even so, the 69 percent of the American public doesn’t mind if Trump remains involved in his companies. According to Bloomberg, 51 percent of those surveyed believe he will put America’s interests ahead of his own, but two thirds think Trump must ultimately choose between his real estate empire and the presidency.
(Via The New York Times, ABC News and Bloomberg)