--- title: Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Conflicts of Interest description: When Donald Trump becomes the president, it seems quite likely that he will bring hundreds of potential financial conflicts of interest. canonical: https://time.com/4574938/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest/ author: Jeff Nesbit article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-17T17:18:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:56.489Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Conflicts of Interest og:description: And Rudy Giuliani's, too og:url: https://time.com/4574938/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b34d66187aef98a/6988aedcf887dc21e3e9840f/trump15.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5306 og:image:height: 2985 og:image:alt: President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Conflicts of Interest twitter:description: And Rudy Giuliani's, too twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b34d66187aef98a/6988aedcf887dc21e3e9840f/trump15.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Conflicts of Interest > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c67e62f6-3a13-4039-b0c7-331452fe567f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8) (7:19)  _Published 2016-10-31. In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton._ by [Jeff Nesbit](https://time.com/author/jeff-nesbit/) ## Jeff Nesbit Nov 17, 2016 5:18 PM UTC  President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2016. Zach Gibson—Getty Images by [Jeff Nesbit](https://time.com/author/jeff-nesbit/) ## Jeff Nesbit Nov 17, 2016 5:18 PM UTC When Donald Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States in January, it seems quite likely that he will bring hundreds of potential financial conflicts of interest with him into the Oval Office. Yet none of it will matter. Instead, incredibly, several congressional oversight committees have said that they will [continue to investigate](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/15/congressional-clinton-probes-will-go-forward-post-election-gop-lawmakers-say.html) potential financial conflicts of interest between the Clinton foundation and Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of State during the Obama administration. The irony here is beyond strange. It’s also unprecedented. **Read more:** [A Handy List of Donald Trump’s Biggest Conflicts of Interest](http://time.com/4578431/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-list/) What is astounding about this is that few seem to care—not the 59 million Americans who voted him into office because they wanted an outsider who has never been involved in politics to run the national government, and certainly not the new GOP Congress that will, instead, continue to investigate potential conflicts of interest of the Democratic presidential candidate who _lost_ the 2016 election. Trump’s conflicts of interest range from small matters like his investment in a [controversial oil and gas pipeline](http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/26/trump-is-heavily-invested-in-fight-over-dakota-access-pipeline/) in North Dakota that he may ultimately have to rule on, to large trade issues with China that will affect [Bank of China ties](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/donald-trump-holdings-conflict-of-interest.html) to his business organizations that will be managed by his three children. Presidents are [largely exempt](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/nov/16/rudy-giuliani/giuliani-president-trump-will-be-exempt-conflict-i/) from oversight from Congress on matters of financial conflict of interest, and the GOP Congress wouldn’t launch investigations of him regardless. The FBI tilted in his favor in the run-up to the presidential election, so it’s unlikely it will take an interest in this subject either. There isn’t anyone left on the playing field in Washington to investigate any of his potential conflicts of interest. Trump didn’t release his tax returns during the presidential campaign, and he has shown no inclination to be any more transparent about potential financial conflicts of interest once he becomes president. Despite intense media pressure on Trump to be more forthcoming about his business dealings and how they might intersect with the White House, Trump has simply stonewalled. That isn’t likely to change. Past presidents have placed their financial holdings in blind trusts and released their tax returns each year to show good faith to the American public. Trump has said he’ll simply allow his children to continue to run his varied financial interests while he’s president, and isn’t likely to allow anyone to scrutinize the inner workings of his many and varied businesses while he’s president. His campaign [personal disclosure form](https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2175187/trump.pdf) lists more than 500 legal business entities, as well as 21 large financial properties that he says are worth more than $50 million each. Many of the decisions he makes as president will undoubtedly affect those small and large financial interests, yet there is no mechanism that can compel him to be more transparent about how those interests might overlap—and there are no federal investigative bodies either in Congress or his own administration to conduct any meaningful oversight. The media will continue to investigate, of course, but Trump has convinced much of America that the media can’t be trusted. Take just two examples of how this might work once he’s in office. Trump is a [small investor in Energy Transfer Partners](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2838696-Trump-2016-Financial-Disclosure.html), which is one of the business interests behind the Dakota Access Pipeline that has spurred dozens of protests. The decision on the Dakota pipeline could very likely be made from the Oval Office, in favor of his investing partners. It is an obvious and clear financial conflict of interest, but Trump has shown no indication that he will avoid such conflicts—and there is no public call for him to divest his political decisions from such financial interests. At a larger scale, the state-run Bank of China has a [financial interest or stake](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/donald-trump-holdings-conflict-of-interest.html) in at least two of Trump’s large real estate properties. During the campaign, Trump said he would consider trade sanctions on China in an effort to promote American business interests. Should he follow through on those campaign threats, triggering reciprocal actions by the Chinese government, those Bank of China loans to his business interests will be squarely in the crosshairs. No one—other than the media—has made an issue out of Trump’s potential financial conflicts of interest as president. And in yet another level of bizarre political irony, one of the central elements of Trump’s presidential campaign was a populist demand from his followers to put Clinton in jail for perceived conflicts of interest between the Clinton foundation and her time as secretary of State. “Lock her up” was a central theme of the Trump campaign, one that he often repeated from the podium. But do such potential financial conflicts interest extend to Trump when he becomes president? Apparently not. The sheer irony of all of this doesn’t stop at the White House, either. The loudest, most vociferous cheerleader at many of those Trump rallies—where his populist movement was demanding that Clinton go to jail for any financial conflict of interest transgressions while she was serving as secretary of State—was former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Like Trump, he was a willing and eager political cheerleader for this demand that Clinton be investigated and jailed. Both he and Trump have said they would still consider appointing a special prosecutor to pursue Clinton. Giuliani is now the leading candidate to become secretary of State in the Trump administration. He has any number of business ties that might come under intense scrutiny should he, in fact, be named to that position. Giuliani has dismissed the questions of any potential conflicts of interest that might intersect with the State Department. “I have friends all over the world,” he [told the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/donald-trump-cabinet-rudy-giuliani.html). He’s said his financial dealings, which ranged from contracts with [the government of Qatar](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/giuliani-foreign-clientele-possible-conflicts-231413) and the huge Canadian company behind the Keystone XL pipeline to paid speeches to groups with financial interests in countries that he would deal with as secretary of State, aren’t the same as the charges that he and Trump leveled during their “lock her up” campaign tour. And yet it is precisely the same thing. The question, at least for the foreseeable future, is whether anyone beyond the media will ever show any interest in the subject. Congress hasn’t shown any interest. The FBI isn’t likely to look into it. Trump isn’t compelled by ethics laws to list potential conflicts of interest when he becomes president. So who’s left to conduct oversight? ## Transcript I am officially running Aah, yeah [ APPLAUSE ]. for President of the United States [ APPLAUSE ] and we are going to make our country great again. The American Dream is dead, but if I get elected President I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again. I was called by a major major reporter whose name I won't use. And he said to me what you've done has never been done Male 1: In the history of United States politics. And more and more people are resonating to what I'm saying. That's why I'm leading in every poll. We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning. I think I have to win. I'm about winning. Male 2: It's been amazing to follow and exciting because you say some shocking Things [ LAUGH ] You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slabs, and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account. Only Rosie O'Donnell Look at those hands, are they small hands? And he referred to my hands, if they're small something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem there, I guarantee it. I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters okay? You gotta see this guy, I don't know what I said. I don't remember. [ APPLAUSE ] Here's a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming and everything else when we're talking. I mean what can happen, and we're not allowed, you know the guards are very gently with him, he's walking out like big high fives. Smiling, laughing, like to punch him in the face. [ APPLAUSE ] USA! USA! USA! When Mexico sends their people, they're not bringing their best. They're sending drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapist. I will build a great great wall On our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. The former president of Mexico Vicente Fox, he said today, and I'm quoting him. He said, I'm not going to pay for that quote, F'ing wall. How are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will and the wall just got ten feet taller, believe me. Zero tolerance for criminal aliens, zero, zero. Now a different threat challenges the whole world. Radical Islamic Terrorism. Donald J Trump is calling for a total and complete shut down. Of Muslims entering the United States. Donald Trump, let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? You have sacrificed nothing, and no one [ APPLAUSE ] I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs. Built great structures. I've had tremendous success. Those are sacrifices? Sure I think they're sacrifices. [ MUSIC ] As the proud daughter of your nominee I am here to tell you this is the moment and Donald Trump is the person to make America great again. [ LAUGH ] I humbly and gratefully accept. Your nomination for the presidency of the United States. And we will make America great again. God Bless you and good night. I love you. [ Music ] Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican nominee for President, Donald J. Trump. And the Democratic nominee for President Hilary Clinton . >> You're telling the enemy everything you wanted to do . >> No we're not . >> See. you're telling the enemy everything you wanted to do . >> There are different . >> Secretary, is it President Obama's fault? Wrong >> That is absolutely Wrong . >> Prove over and over again. Wrong. I also have a much better temperament than she has, you know? If Hillary knew how she would have done it already, period, end of story. I won the debate, I stayed calm just like I promised, and it is over. Goodnight, [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ LAUGH ] I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. [ LAUGH ] Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the ****. I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade old video Are one of them. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted women, do you understand that? No I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understood what was said. This was lock Locker room talk . >> Just breaking a damning report from the New York Times that claims Donald Trump inappropriately touched two women, the first nearly [ INAUDIBLE ] That more women now accuse Donald Trump of improper physical contact . >> The People Magazine writer who said that Donald Trump kissed her and groped her in 2005 while she was interviewing him and his then pregnant wife Melania . >> These vicious claims About me, of inappropriate conduct with women. Are totally, and absolutely false. I didn't know any of these women, I didn't see these women. And I didn't even apologize to my wife, who's sitting right here, cuz I didn't do anything. Thank you. Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely, Sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election? I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at anything now, I'll look at it at the time. And I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election. If I win. 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