Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump forgot to mention tens of millions of dollars in stock trades — only by a few months, no big deal to him, The Washington Post reports. His latest filings revealed he quietly sold somewhere between $5 and $25 million each in Microsoft and Amazon stock back in February, then turned around and bought more shares in March. Very normal behavior that definitely doesn't raise any eyebrows.
By law, presidents are supposed to report stock transactions over $1,000 within 45 days — a rule Trump has apparently decided is more of a suggestion. His punishment for repeatedly ignoring it? A whopping $200 fine. Twice. Because apparently the first slap on the wrist in March really taught him a lesson, given that he needed another one in August.
Meanwhile, every president since Jimmy Carter — you know, in the wake of that little Watergate unpleasantness — has had the decency to sell off their personal stock portfolios and park their money in boring things like Treasury notes and mutual funds before taking office, to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. But why follow decades of ethical precedent when you could pay a $200 fine and call it a day?
Trump failed to release his 2025 financial disclosures, which are due Friday. This is yet another example of the most transparent presidency ever!
No worries, though, because both Trump and Vice President JD Vance needed a little extra time to "compile the necessary financial information," so they generously granted themselves a 45-day extension. Tracking down those pesky assets takes time, y’all. A White House official confirmed this, naturally speaking anonymously, because nothing says "nothing to hide" like refusing to put your name on a statement.
Trump's assets, by the way, are sitting in a trust managed by his own children. This is completely identical to the "blind trusts" used by previous presidents — except for the part where blind trusts actually prevent their owners from knowing how their money is being managed. But who needs that kind of inconvenient separation when family is involved?
When reporters had the audacity to ask about the president's stock activity, the White House helpfully pointed them to the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization, in turn, assured everyone that the president's investments are handled exclusively by independent third-party institutions. So it's all totally above board — you'll just have to take the word of the president's own company for that. What could possibly be more reassuring?
“Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments,” Kimberly Benza, director of executive operations and communications, said in a statement. “They receive no advance notice of trading activity and provide no input regarding investment decisions or portfolio management of any kind.”
A likely story!
Via The Post:
Trump purchased Nvidia stock on Feb. 10, days before the company announced a multiyear partnership with Meta to fill its new data centers with Nvidia processors, his disclosures show. The company’s shares rose around 2.5 percent after the deal. Trump also purchased stock in leading companies such as Microsoft and Amazon months before the Pentagon announced deals to deploy their technology in classified computer networks.
I'm going to go out on a limb here to suggest that Trump isn't being forthcoming. Shocking, I know. Last year, Trump publicly attacked Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri for collaborating with Democrats on legislation that would have prohibited the president and vice president from trading stocks. Imagine that.
