By admin 
Many Americans may not be feeling Donald Trump’s economic “golden age” — but the president’s bank account is.
Read more US life expectancy on track to reach record high as death rate falls to record low in 2025
He earned billions of dollars last year in cryptocurrency holdings, royalty payments and property investments and healthy profits by selling Trump-branded Bibles, watches and sneakers, according to his latest annual financial disclosure, released Tuesday.
It was a fresh reminder that this is a presidency like none before it. Far from ostentatiously cutting himself off completely from his personal financial arrangements while in office, like all of his modern predecessors, Trump has created new ones — for instance, by issuing his own cryptocurrency tokens.
Although presidents and vice presidents are mostly not covered by existing ethics laws, they’ve tended to conduct their affairs as if they were, not least to avoid the political consequences of failing to do so.
But ever since Trump flouted custom by refusing to release his tax returns in his 2016 presidential campaign, he’s tended to ignore conventions surrounding his wealth and business — and appears largely to have escaped lasting political damage.
Details of Trump’s growing wealth were contained in the release of his mandatory financial declarations. There is no evidence or suggestion of criminal wrongdoing or action against the president.
But there could be political accountability.
One question now is whether the latest news of Trump’s wealth, and growing concerns among critics of potential conflicts of interest, will cut through with the public at a time when most Americans are not doing as well as their president.
It was either a sign of being out of touch or sheer political bravado that led him to address this disconnect Wednesday before boarding his new luxury Air Force One — a gift from Qatar worth an estimated $400 million.
“We’re all profiting. I’m profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash,” he said.
Presidents long worried about ethical signals
The presidency has generally been regarded as a public trust meant to govern for the benefit of everyone. So it’s only natural that the scale of Trump’s financial gains might make voters uneasy.
It’s precisely to avoid such scrutiny that most past presidents have taken steps to separate themselves from their fortunes or financial interests while in power. Jimmy Carter, for instance, put his family peanut farm in a blind trust administered by a law firm in Atlanta before he took office in January 1977.
At its most basic level, this is a question of propriety. But Trump’s financial arrangements also risk creating controversy that could damage the reputation of the US political system and the economy.
It’s one thing for Trump to continue his lifelong practice of making money through branding — as with more than $200,000 in royalties for Trump Bibles, $4.7 million in Trump watches and $67,634 for Trump fragrances and sneakers he made in 2025, according to his mandatory financial disclosures.
This might strike some citizens as a distasteful misuse of a platform given to him by voters who hope he’ll help fix their problems. But it is Trump’s hugely profitable cryptocurrency ventures that are drawing the most attention in Washington.
The administration has placed the fledgling crypto industry at the center of its economic policy. The executive branch is charged with regulating the industry, and many experts have noted that it’s loosening Securities and Exchange Commission scrutiny.
“It becomes impossible to know: Is the president creating this regulation around cryptocurrency for his own benefit, for his holdings, or is he doing it because he thinks that’s truly what’s best for the American people?” said Danielle Caputo, senior counsel for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center.
Trump insisted Wednesday that he has “funds that run my money” and that he never speaks to those in charge of them. There is no sign that he runs the day-to-day operations of his real estate empire.
But Trump netted more than $526 million from sales of cryptocurrency tokens tied to World Liberty Financial LLC — a firm managed in part by his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. The brothers were captured by cameras standing on the tarmac as Trump spoke to the press before flying to North Dakota. The president also inked a licensing agreement for the sale of his meme coin that netted him $635 million, according to the disclosures.
The White House has long dismissed questions about potential conflicts between Trump’s official role and his financial interests, arguing that he always puts the American people first. Trump has said in recent weeks that he’s restored national prosperity just in time for the country’s 250th birthday on Saturday.
The stock market rally that’s making some people rich and everyone else miserable
On Wednesday, Trump pointed out that many Americans were also doing very well because rising stock indexes during his tenure swelled 401k plans. But he shrugged off the burning issue of potential conflicts of interest.
This issue is wider than merely Trump’s personal finances.
One reason the US economy has become the world’s mightiest is its reputation as a safe haven for investment that is largely free of the corruption, favor-bartering and governmental interference characteristic of developing and post-totalitarian states. Any suspicion that the administration is not upholding those standards could cause long-term damage. There’s no evidence that the president is manipulating crypto markets for his own benefit. But that any perception that he might could be corrosive.
The crypto storm poses a similar problem to the Qatari 747. Strict rules cover gifts that foreign nations send to presidents to avoid the perception that the commander in chief can be unduly influenced by another power.
Trump has denied there is anything for Americans to worry about. He said on Wednesday that the emir of Qatar had simply wanted to “make a contribution to the country” with the jet, which will be used before two new Boeing 747s currently being readied for presidential transit arrive in around two years’ time.
In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson last year, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani also dismissed the controversy. He referred to the transaction as simply a “government-to-government” dealing.
At the same time, however, Qatar is a critical pillar of US policy in the Middle East — a region where the Trump family has extensive dealings. Even if there is no quid pro quo involving the jet, his acceptance of it risks creating the impression that he may lend a more sympathetic ear to a foreign leader on vital diplomatic issues in return for previous kindness.
Will there be a political price to pay?
Trump’s obvious excitement about his new jet could turn into a political liability.
Democrats have often struggled to frame effective arguments against the president. But campaign ads featuring crypto and palatial planes will write themselves ahead of the midterm elections in November.
“Trump made $1+ billion from his crypto ventures while in office,” Colorado Rep. Jason Crow wrote on X. “Today he’s taking his first flight on his illegal $400 million gift from a foreign government. This grift and corruption is staggering.”
There is no evidence of illegality by the president, and there are disputes over whether laws like the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, which precludes federal employees from accepting gifts from foreign governments, apply to Trump and the plane.
But Crow also previewed potential avenues of investigation should Democrats win back the House in the fall, adding, “Accountability is coming.”
It’s no secret that Trump is rich. And on balance, his wealth — and mystique as a hard-driving businessman — has been a political advantage. Attendees at Trump’s rallies often point to his success as a qualification for running the economy.
But he’s taking to flaunting his new plane at a time when millions of Americans are trapped in the affordability crisis that could define the midterm elections.
Trump has already looked in denial about the true conditions of an economy that while producing stable growth and job creation is still plagued by high prices. The prices he vowed to lower are still haunting many consumers.
While he referred to soaring stock markets on Wednesday when he said, “We’re all profiting,” a rising 401k balance waiting for retirement doesn’t make it any easier to afford weekly groceries.
If voters think the president is getting rich but they aren’t, he could be in political trouble.
How presidential power has grown far beyond what the nation’s founders envisioned
Recent polls have shown that majorities of Americans have lost confidence in Trump’s economic policies, are angry at his failure to bring prices down, and think his approach is making their lives worse. Trump is stuck at 37% in the latest CNN Poll of Polls — perilous territory for an incumbent party before midterms.
Democrats will seek to leverage that unpopularity and to link the president’s casual dismissal of affordability questions to his financial home runs.
“This is an administration that’s saying, ‘Look at my 747, look at my gold. Whereas, you know, you can eat cake,’” Democratic Rep. Jimmy Panetta told CNN News Central on Wednesday.
Trump has been on a personal financial bull run as president. The next four months will show whether there will be a political price.
Read more US Postal Service cannot carry out Trump order on mail ballot delivery, judge rules