Whoever said the personal is political did not have Donald Trump in mind. In the last week alone, the US president berated a chain store for dropping his daughter’s branded product line; the White House counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, then urged television viewers to go out and buy Ivanka Trump’s products. Meanwhile the first lady, Melania Trump, is suing a newspaper on the grounds its defamation ruined a “once in lifetime” chance for her to make money. No US president in history has triggered anything close to this many conflicts of interest — and this is just his family. Trump Inc is turning into America’s newest fourth estate.
Mr Trump’s ability to benefit personally from office is immense. Every time he tweets against a company, its stock briefly nosedives. A minute’s notice would enable a savvy operator to monetise the damage by shorting the stock. Federal enforcement of insider trading laws is handled by the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose head Mr Trump hopes will be Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton. On a strict reading, Mr Trump is already in breach of the US constitution’s emoluments clause, which bans officer-holders from accepting gifts from foreign governments. Every time an embassy rents the Trump International Hotel’s ballroom the money will end up in the president’s pocket. Conflicts are assessed by the General Services Administration whose head Mr Trump will appoint.
Yet the US courts are unlikely to go near anti-Trump lawsuits. A plaintiff must show they have suffered damage. It is hard to see how anyone could prove they were personally harmed by the Trump Hotel’s high occupancy rates, or his booming golf courses. Many of Mr Trump’s potential conflicts are hidden as he has refused to release his tax returns, which means he could pocket any such benefits with impunity. Short of Mr Trump taking a direct foreign bribe, do not expect the judiciary to act as a check on him. Expect even less of Congress. Mr Trump’s Republican colleagues would be the last people to embark on fishing expeditions into his business interests, still less to impeach him. The field is wide open. Those hoping he will be brought down by the system are guilty of wishful thinking.