How President Trump Used His Office To Benefit Himself and Friends

Washington: President Donald Trump has sought to create a fund of about $1.8 billion that could be funneled to his supporters to resolve a lawsuit he filed against his own government; he even claimed that he “gave up a lot of money to allow it”.

However, after backlash in Congress and the courts, the White House is re-evaluating the fund. This potentially means that the case and the possibility that the president could still make money could come up again.

Trump has not hesitated to turn the presidency into a source of massive personal gain, involving himself in everything from business sales deals to crypto ventures to high-dollar political and official events at his properties.

Asked about the possibility of the president becoming self-governing, the White House called such proposals “the same, tired narrative that Democrats have been pushing against President Trump, his family, and his administration for a decade.”

“President Trump acts solely in the best interest of the American people, which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses by the fake news media,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. “There is no conflict of interest.”

Here are some key ways Trump has reaped rewards for himself, his children, and his allies in his second term:

He sues his government and makes deals that support his family

Last year, the president filed a motion seeking $230 million in damages from the Justice Department for an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida as part of an investigation into whether he received secret records from the White House.

In January of this year, Trump, his two eldest sons, and the family’s business, the Trump Organization, filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department after a former IRS contractor illegally leaked Trump’s tax returns.

To resolve these cases, the Trump administration agreed to distribute $1.776 billion in taxpayer funds to people who believe they were targeted for politically motivated prosecution by past administrations, including Trump supporters who were jailed for attacking police while invading the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

After pushback from even some Republicans in Congress, the Justice Department now says it will comply with the decision to temporarily block the funding.

But there was less fuss about another part of the agreement that allowed the government to leave pending IRS audits to Trump and his relatives.

Separately, the Air Force agreed to purchase interceptor drones from Powerus, a Florida-based company affiliated with Trump’s family. And ProPublica reports that the direct intervention of the White House, the Pentagon, and Donald Trump Jr. It reportedly happened before it agreed to lend $620 million to Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina startup with ties to .

Trump Organization spokeswoman Kimberly Benza denied there was any ethical conflict between the White House and the family business.

“The Trump Organization operates completely separate from the presidency and fully complies with all ethics and conflict of interest laws,” Benza said in a statement. he said.

As for Powerus, Benza said Eric Trump is a “passive investor in a vehicle that, among many other things, has a stake in the company” but is not involved in the decision-making or management of the company.

Can help with trading in financial markets

Trump has traded stocks and bonds in ways unprecedented for a sitting U.S. president.

Office of Government Ethics records show Trump made more than 3,600 stock trades in the first quarter of 2026 alone; The value of these transactions is well over $100 million.

Many of these trades involved significant stock purchases of technology and artificial intelligence giants such as Nvidia, Dell, Oracle and Palantir before the Trump administration took policy steps supporting these firms.

Similar disclosures last year show that Trump bought more than $300 million in bonds issued by companies, states and municipalities even as he repeatedly pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates; It’s a move that could help increase the value of his holdings.

Crypto startups

Trump’s family has made huge profits in the crypto sector since his re-election. An important factor in this was the $TRUMP meme coin, which was announced the day before Trump took office. About 220 of the top investors were later invited to a private reception with the president.

Trump’s family also owns a majority stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto company founded with the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and run by his son Zach. It has its own stablecoin, USD1, and it got a big boost just before Trump took office when an investment fund affiliated with the United Arab Emirates bought a large stake.

MGX, a state-backed investment firm in Abu Dhabi, later pledged to use $1 worth $2 billion to buy shares in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange; This was a move that further strengthened World Liberty Financial.

Trump-branded abundance

Beyond the digital world, numerous companies are paying to license the president’s name, from Bibles to guitars, from sneakers to watches, fragrances and gold cell phones.

Trump promoted many such products on social media, especially during the 2024 campaign, but they also featured prominently in the White House.

When French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited last summer, Trump showed them a merch room outside the Oval Office filled with items for sale on his website. A few months later, a video emerged of Trump spraying the “Victory 47” cologne and perfume bottles he gifted to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House.

The president displayed hats bearing the words “Trump 2028” on the Resolute Desk during a meeting with congressional Democrats last year. And at the televised Cabinet meeting in May, every seat had a red hat commemorating America’s 250th anniversary.

Each hat sells for $55 on Trump’s website.

Paydays for the president’s estates

The Republican National Committee and various political groups associated with Trump and the GOP have held fundraisers and political events at Mar-a-Lago, as well as at Trump’s estate in Bedminster, New Jersey, and at golf clubs in Doral, Florida, and Sterling, Virginia.

The LIV Golf league, controlled by the Saudi Public Investment Fund run by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, held events in Doral. Trump will host the G20 summit in November.

That means world leaders, support staff, corporate executives, journalists and many others will pay to join the Trump Organization, which purchased Doral in 2012. The president has already tried to deflect criticism of his self-interest over the summit, saying government participants will be billed “at cost” and that “We’re not going to make any money from this.”

Meanwhile, conservative groups and Republican committees have spent at least $26 million on Trump properties since 2015. The actual figure is likely higher because some groups do not have to detail their spending.

Renovation and construction projects

Qatar gave Trump a $400 million jet that he plans to use as Air Force One and keep in his presidential library after he leaves office. The giveaway has undergone extensive taxpayer-funded reconstruction and security upgrades and could exceed $1 billion, lawmakers estimate.

Trump has also ordered numerous renovation projects that will leave a mark on Washington while passing the costs on to taxpayers.

He has long insisted that wealthy donors would pay for the $400 million ballroom he demolished to build in the East Wing of the White House; To do so, he requested $1 billion in federal funding for security improvements that he said the military and Secret Service were seeking as part of the project.

At least $15 million of public funds will be used for the ceremonial arch that Trump wants to be built at the entrance of the capital. The National Park Service is also paying $13.1 million to the contractor to handle the Trump administration renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.