Donald Trump Leaving Business in Total to Focus on Presidency
Donald Trump has just announced he will “business in total” to focus on presidency and avoid perceived conflicts of interest.
The president-elect said he would be expanding on his plans at a press conference with his children next month.
Donald Trump previously dismissed concerns over potential conflicts between his businesses and the presidency.
Meanwhile, former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin confirmed he had been picked as treasury secretary.
Steve Mnuchin, who was Donald Trump’s former campaign finance director, also said billionaire investor Wilbur Ross had been chosen for commerce secretary.
Donald Trump and his transition team have yet to confirm the appointments.
Image source Flickr
Instead, the president-elect chose to focus on his plans to distance himself from his business in a series of four tweets released over 20 minutes.
The tweets read: “I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
“While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses.
“Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!”
There is no legal requirement to liquidate assets but past presidents have set aside their business dealings. Donald Trump’s rivals have raised repeated concerns this may cause problems in the coming months.
Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, had previously indicated to the New York Times that he was considering separating his two areas of responsibility but was confident he could run both “perfectly”.
The billionaire’s three eldest children already hold roles within the Trump empire which boasts golf clubs, office towers and other properties in several countries.
However, Reince Priebus, Donald Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, refused to say on MSNBC’s Morning Joe whether he was handing the business to his children or putting it into a blind trust, which would place the management of his assets in the hands of other experts.