One of the looming controversies facing a Donald Trump presidency is how his various ties with foreign businesses and global financiers could present a serious conflict of interest for a sitting President of the United States, and even pose a threat to national security — as a Newsweek expose pointed out back in September. Now that Trump is actually the president-elect, he has done nothing to address those concerns, unless you consider telling the New York Times that the president “can’t have a conflict of interest” counts.
In his latest “Closer Look” segment, Seth Meyers examined some of these problematic conflicts of interests that seem to be growing more and more troubling with each passing day, such as Trump’s new Washington D.C. hotel pitching itself to foreign diplomats, Trump meeting with Indian business partners in the middle of his supposed transition, the fact that Trump’s daughter Ivanka — who is supposed to be running his private businesses — is already sitting in on meetings with foreign leaders, and that in one of those meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, Trump reportedly accepted a $4,000 gold golf club.
As Meyers explains, these conflicts of interest may actually go so far as violating a clause in the constitution that prohibits public officials from accepting gifts from foreign powers. If one didn’t know better, it seems as though Donald Trump may be laying out the groundwork for impeachment before he even steps foot into office.
