More than a week after taking office, President Trump is hawking pricey watches and a host of other products including a new crypto “meme” coin that raised billions of dollars and set off new ethics complaints, mostly from Democrats and left-leaning watchdog organizations.
Mr. Trump began lending his name to products through licensing agreements with business partners long before he started his second term, but it ramped up after his November win. And it hasn’t stopped since he returned to the White House.
Merchants sell Trump-themed items such as “Make America Great Again” guitars and “Fight Fight Fight” cologne and perfume. A limited edition “Victory Cologne By President Trump,” featuring a mini-Trump bust on the top of the bottle, is currently sold out.
Democrats are calling for an investigation into Mr. Trump’s meme coin, $Trump, which he launched three days before taking office. The coin raised billions of dollars, but Mr. Trump said he “didn’t know much about it.” He told reporters at a White House press conference with Big Tech billionaires that he had launched the coin and “heard it was very successful.”
The coin is largely held by two affiliates of the Trump Organization, which is owned by Mr. Trump and operated by his sons.
The coin sparked a buying frenzy that increased its value to $6 billion in the hours before he took office. The Trump organization made an estimated $58 million in trading fees alone.
Mr. Trump campaigned on making the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.” But Democrats say his meme coin, and the $Melania coin launched by first lady Melania Trump, allow the secretive transfer of money to his businesses from those seeking to influence the president.
“Buyers could include large corporations, allied nations who are pressed to show their ’respect’ for the president, and our adversaries, like Russia and China, which have much to gain from influencing a Trump presidency,” said Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. “Anyone globally, even individuals who have been sanctioned by the U.S. or banned from our capital markets, can now trade and profit off of $Trump through various unregulated platforms.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Rep. Jake Auchincloss, both of Massachusetts, said in a letter to the Trump administration that the coin presents a conflict of interest because the president “will be in a position to both benefit directly from the sale of the tokens while also setting policy on how these markets are regulated.”
Mr. Trump issued an executive order last week declaring the digital asset industry “plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our nation’s international leadership.” The order established a working group made up of Cabinet officials to identify a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets.
The White House press team did not respond to an inquiry about ethics concerns.
The president has continued hawking many other products.
The new president’s ads for his luxury watches that began running before the election are still airing.
“This isn’t just any watch, it’s one of the best watches made,” Mr. Trump proclaims in an ad in which he introduces himself as “your favorite president.”
An “Inauguration Heritage Edition” watch with 18K gold plating and a silver guilloche dial can be purchased for $799.
Ethics watchdogs are mortified by Mr. Trump’s endorsements but he doesn’t appear to be breaking any laws thanks to a lack of legal clarity on presidential products.
Both the president and vice president are exempt from federal conflict of interest rules.
Many of the Trump product websites, including the watches, state the merchandise is “not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals” and use Mr. Trump’s likeness under a licensing agreement.
Richard Painter, who served as White House ethics adviser during the George W. Bush administration, said Mr. Trump’s endorsements push the envelope. His actions, however, come on the heels of Republicans’ accusations that President Biden concealed an influence-peddling scheme that netted his family millions of dollars.
Mr. Biden, after he became president, also continued to lend his name to the Penn Biden Center think tank at the University of Pennsylvania, which would not disclose donors.
The university, which funds the center, saw a significant increase in China-based donations while Mr. Biden was president.
“A private university was using the president’s name to raise huge amounts of money,” Mr. Painter said. “Biden set a horrible example.”
Mr. Painter said presidents should not lend their name to any profit or nonprofit entity or product while in office.
Mr. Trump’s meme coin was selling Monday at $27, down from a high of more than $74 last week.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee have called on the panel to establish ethics rules for the Trump White House. They cited his family’s investments and the $TRUMP cryptocurrency token, “which creates another avenue where people can transfer money to the president’s family and allow Trump to cash in on the presidency,” said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the top Democrat on the panel.
A spokeswoman for the panel’s Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, called the request “the height of hypocrisy” after Democrats defended Mr. Biden amid evidence he helped his family and their associates secure tens of millions of dollars from foreign business deals.
Mr. Biden issued preemptive pardons to many family members before he left office.
“Democrats refuse to condemn these actions,” spokeswoman Jessica Collins said. “If Democrats truly care about presidential ethics, they must first acknowledge the evidence we uncovered.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.