Former President Donald Trump's business empire expanded into the heart of global finance on Thursday, 12 December 2024, with the launch of five new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the New York Stock Exchange. The event, marked by the ringing of the iconic opening bell, has ignited a fierce debate over the unprecedented financial interests of a sitting US president and the potential for serious conflicts of interest.
The 'America First' Financial Products
The five new funds, launched by Trump Media and Technology Group, are being branded under the 'America First' banner, positioned as a direct counter to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing trends. Each ETF focuses on a specific theme aligning with Trump-branded patriotism: companies based in the US, real estate in Republican-leaning states, energy and infrastructure, security and defence, and technology—which includes exposure to bitcoin.
These products represent a significant broadening of the Trump Media portfolio, which now includes the Truth Social platform, a streaming service, and a nuclear fusion energy company. The ETF launch is seen as just the beginning, with a wider range of financial products, particularly in cryptocurrency, expected to follow. This aligns with President Trump's repeated pledge to make the United States the 'crypto capital of the world'.
The funds are managed by Yorkville America, a branch of New Jersey-based Yorkville Advisors. This firm has deep financial ties to Trump Media, having been involved in a $2.5 billion fundraising round in 2024 and agreeing to provide a $5 billion line of credit to Trump Media and Crypto.com last year to form a new crypto treasury.
Mixed Performance and Deepening Ethical Quagmire
The financial bet on the Trump brand has yielded volatile results. While Trump Media's share price on Nasdaq soared above $60 during the 2024 campaign, it now trades near $14. Similarly, the 'Trump' meme coin promoted by the president skyrocketed to $45 around his inauguration but has since collapsed to around $5.
More critically, the launch of these ventures during Trump's presidency has plunged his administration into uncharted ethical waters. Government ethics watchdogs have sounded loud alarms, noting that typical safeguards are absent. Unlike most modern presidents, Trump did not place his assets in a blind trust. Instead, he placed his Trump Media shares into a revocable trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
'The thing that's guarding the president from getting involved in conflicts of interests and propping up the presidency are ethics norms,' said Kedric Payne, a former congressional ethics attorney and now senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center. 'That's it. So if there are no ethics norms, there is no mechanism.'
Presidential Power and Potential for Favouritism
The concerns are not merely theoretical. Critics fear individuals or entities seeking to curry favour with the White House could simply invest heavily in Trump-linked financial products. This apprehension is compounded by several controversial actions taken by President Trump.
He pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who subsequently invested $2 billion in World Liberty Financial, Trump Media's digital asset company. Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission paused a federal investigation into crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who purchased $200 million worth of Trump's crypto token. Investigations into Trump Media partner Crypto.com by the previous Biden administration were halted after Trump took office.
In a stark warning, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to the US Treasury this week, urging a delay in reviewing a bank charter for World Liberty Financial. She argued that approval would mean, for the first time in history, a president would oversee his own financial company.
The White House has dismissed all concerns, stating unequivocally that 'neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.' As the 'America First' ETFs begin trading, the fundamental question remains whether presidential ethics norms can withstand the pressures of a deeply intertwined business and political empire.
