Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Conflicts of Interest

For all the talk about Russia's involvement in our election and the potential that Trump is somehow compromised, I have a feeling that isn't the issue that will cause him the most trouble during his presidency.

The issue that will not go away is his business conflicts of interest. His sons are still busily going around the globe (on our dime) promoting the Trump brand, not so subtly reminding everyone that a certain U.S. President is behind it. The southern "White House" is now a resort that he owns, and charges people $200,000 a year to join, and overtly promises access to those who do. (He also charges the government for staying there). His trademark application in China was approved only after he made public statements supporting U.S. policy he previously railed against. The Muslim ban specifically excluded any country he has business interests in, including some with higher incidents of terrorism. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We're only one month in here.

NPR sees it the same way I do. They have created a team devoted strictly to looking into his business conflicts of interest.

A man that has spent his entire life devoted to greed is not going to change his spots at age 70. Especially with the potential earning power of the presidency.

Look for the talk of defunding NPR to re-emerge.