After pulling in $2.2 billion last year, the Republican had a chance to present some kind of defense for his gains. He apparently couldn’t think of much.
After pulling in .2 billion last year, Trump had plenty of time to come up with a defense for his eagerness to profit from the presidency and his many conflicts of interest.
Evidently, he couldn’t think of much.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-07-02T15:18:49.568Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trum-defends-massive-crypto-profits-white-house
Vote for him, Trump said, and he’d be different. Vote for the man who’s already wealthy, his party said, and he wouldn’t even have to try to profit from the presidency.
So much for that idea. MS NOW reported:
President Donald Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income in his latest annual financial disclosure released Tuesday, with digital assets emerging as the largest source of his personal earnings during his second term.
The 927-page disclosure, covering 2025 and filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, shows Trump earned more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company he co-founded in 2024 with his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. He also reported another $635 million in income tied to sales of the $TRUMP meme coin.
A related New York Times report noted,
“All told, the president pulled in at least $2.2 billion, a figure that includes other parts of his vast holdings, such as his real estate assets. That compares to a minimum of $622 million his enterprises pulled in for all of 2024, before he returned to the presidency.”....
The Republican has had plenty of time to come up with some kind of coherent defense for his 2025 windfall, but when pressed by reporters Wednesday, he had little to offer.
Pressed on a disclosure showing he made at least .4b off crypto in 2025, Trump lied by saying "I don't get involved" (he's personally promoted his crypto businesses), then dismissed a follow up about how he's profiting off the presidency, saying "everybody is profiting."
Here's full exchange:
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-01T12:58:13.008Z
.....During his brief Q&A with reporters Wednesday, the Republican said,
“Well, I made a lot of money before I became president.” That’s largely true but entirely irrelevant: The question is about whether Trump is profiting enormously from the presidency, even as Americans struggle with a weak economy.
But that helped set the stage for the pièce de resistance.
Q: Critics say you're profiting off the presidency
TRUMP: I'm profiting because the stock market is going up. Everybody is profiting. Thank you President Trump.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-01T12:48:32.460Z
,,,,,Except there are millions of Americans struggling to get by, living paycheck to paycheck.
The idea that his yacht just happens to be rising from a tide lifting all boats is absurd. What’s more, while Trump has cashed in on crypto deals, most of the investors who followed his lead actually lost money — contradicting his “everybody’s profiting” boasts.
About a year ago, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing, “I
think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once but twice. … This is a president who has actually lost money for being president.”
The lecture was foolish at the time. It’s worse now.
= new reply since forum marked as read
