Donald Trump made up to $160 million from international business dealings while he was serving as president of the United States, according to an analysis of his tax returns by CREW.
Throughout his time in office, President Trump, his family and his Republican allies repeatedly assured the public that his refusal to divest from his businesses wouldn\u2019t lead to any conflicts of interest. Americans were promised that Trump would donate his salary, which he did, until maybe he didn\u2019t\u2014all while siphoning millions from taxpayers that more than offset his presidential pay. When it came to foreign conflicts of interest, Trump and his company pledged to pause foreign business. They did not.
Trump pulled in the most money from the United Kingdom, where his Aberdeen and Turnberry golf courses in Scotland helped him gross $58 million. Trump\u2019s now-defunct hotel and tower in Vancouver helped him pull in $36.5 million from Canada. Trump brought in more than $24.4 million from Ireland, home to his often-visited Doonbeg golf course, as well as $9.6 million from India, and nearly $9.7 million from Indonesia.
Trump\u2019s presidency was marred by unprecedented conflicts of interest arising from his decision not to divest from the Trump Organization, with his most egregious conflicts involving businesses in foreign countries with interests in US foreign policy.
The full extent to which Trump\u2019s foreign business ties influenced his decision making as president may never be known, but there is plenty of evidence that Trump\u2019s actions in the White House were influenced\u2013if not guided\u2013by his financial interests, subverting the national interests for his own parochial concerns. For example, while campaigning in 2015, Trump bragged to a crowd in Alabama about his longstanding business ties with the Saudis. \u201cThey buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cAm I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.\u201d In office, Trump continued to benefit from Saudi business and faced repeated criticism, especially in the wake of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, for his apparent desire to shield Saudi leaders from criticism, going so far as to question US intelligence while parroting allegations from Saudi Arabia that Khashoggi was tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Other instances of Trump\u2019s business interests bleeding into his administration\u2019s foreign policy abound. In 2019, Trump stunned the US foreign policy establishment by pulling US troops out of northeast Syria. The decision had no obvious benefits to the US and was a bombshell reversal\u2002to allied Kurds, but it was a victory for Turkey, where Trump had done business for years. In China, Trump again shocked even his GOP allies when he pledged to help sanctioned Chinese company ZTE because, as he tweeted, there were \u201c[t]oo many jobs in China lost,\u201d despite warnings from US intelligence officials that the company\u2019s products may be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans. When Trump\u2019s tax returns were released more than four years later, they showed a Chinese bank account he claimed to have closed in 2015 and, according to CREW\u2019s analysis, more than $7.5 million in income from China. In Argentina, Trump held off on enacting tariffs until after trademarks for his company had been approved.
Trump also used the US foreign policy apparatus to direct business to his properties. For example, Trump\u2019s Ambassador to the United Kingdom reportedly told embassy staff that Trump pushed him to get the British Open to be held at one of his Scottish golf resorts. During a trip to Europe, Trump insisted on staying at his remote Irish resort in Doonbeg, claiming it was \u201cconvenient,\u201d while the Trump Organization promoted his visit. Trump also reportedly pressured the Irish prime minister to meet him at Doonbeg, and threatened to move his visit to Scotland instead if he didn\u2019t.
Despite a near constant stream of reporting about corruption involving Trump\u2019s business at home and abroad, Trump and his family have spent years swearing they put a hold on all foreign deals and that the presidency was without conflicts of interest. After his election Trump proclaimed, \u201cThe law\u2019s totally on my side, meaning, the president can\u2019t have a conflict of interest.\u201d Eric and Don Jr. echoed that sentiment. In a June 2017 interview on Good Morning America, Eric proclaimed that he and his father didn\u2019t talk about business at all and that Trump has \u201czero conflicts of interest.\u201d In October 2019 Eric said on Fox News, \u201cwhen my father became commander in chief of this country, we got out of all international business.\u201d
The Trumps did not put a hold on foreign business. In fact, they even signed new deals. Barely two weeks after Eric Trump claimed the Trump Organization put foreign business on hold, the Trump Organization trumpeted approval to build \u201ca new ballroom, pool, spa, leisure facilities, 235 additional resort rooms, gate house and much more\u201d at the Doonbeg golf course in Ireland. A local council in Scotland also voted to allow the Trump Organization to expand its Aberdeen golf course by building 550 homes and a second golf course. Eric Trump celebrated this \u201cnew phase of development\u201d on Twitter. At the same time, Eric was bashing Hunter Biden on Fox News for \u201ccashing in\u201d while his father was vice president.
The Trumps took advantage of the presidency to revive dormant old deals as well, revisiting projects in countries like India, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, and more during the administration.
The Trumps were openly engaging in multiple international business deals and let the world know that they hoped to continue expanding internationally after Trump left office. According to the Wall Street Journal, Eric Trump predicted that after Trump leaves office, the \u201cTrump Organization will launch a major expansion that will in part focus on luxury hotels abroad.\u201d Don Jr. was even more specific, telling an Indian newspaper, \u201cIndia is a market that we would be very interested [in] post politics,\u201d along with \u201cother markets.\u201d
It\u2019s no secret that Trump was struggling financially before he announced his run for office. His tax returns show that the presidency was great for his bank account. Congressional Republicans may have halted their inquiry into Trump\u2019s finances, but there is still much to discover about the extent to which he truly abused the presidency for his own personal profit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n