# If Trump wins, what happens to the Trump Organization? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 23, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688 "2016-07-23T16:59:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688/1 "2016-07-23T16:59:01Z")
It strikes me as odd that Trump’s refusal to disclose his ta returns has become a nonissue. I suspect the Dems will bring it up over the next few months. I don’t recall any talk though of what will happen to the Trump Organization if god forbid Trump wins the presidency. Of course I might have missed it. Have the media, the Dems, or the GOP brought it up? Is there a requirement that he set things up so that he has no direct responsibility for the corporation? Or is it like his tax returns, no real requirement, everyone assumes of course he’ll do so, and then he basically says, “Fuck you, I’m not gonna do it”? I remember there being rumors that despite the changes Cheney made to put his Halliburton holdings in hands so that he supposedly couldn’t profit from his position, he did things that benefited Halliburton and eventually himself greatly. How can the nation assure that this won’t happen with Trump? Or do so few people care about this that it’s, like his taxes, a nonissue? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688/2 "2016-07-23T17:01:34Z")
My understanding is that he would have to surrender control while in office. He’s not allowed to have access to it or it’s funds. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688/3 "2016-07-23T17:23:50Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > My understanding is that he would have to surrender control while in office. He’s not allowed to have access to it or it’s funds. I thought that would be the case. And I know I’m shockingly ignorant about some pretty important stuff. But what legislation makes it mandatory for him to surrender control? What would happen if he were to say, “Fuck you, I’m not gonna do it. I’m so awesome I can be both Chair of The Trump Organization and POTUS. And I’m for the little guy. Trust me, I won’t make money off my presidency. It’s unfair for the liberal media to say otherwise.” ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688/4 "2016-07-23T17:27:27Z")
Trump has [stated](http://www.npr.org/2016/06/09/481351291/if-elected-president-would-trump-put-his-investments-in-a-blind-trust) (as much as he ever straightforwardly states anything) that his children would run the Trump Organization. He is under no legal requirement to either stop running the business or to place his assets in a blind trust. How he would choose to deal with the situation is entirely up to him. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688/5 "2016-07-23T17:39:31Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > But what legislation makes it mandatory for him to surrender control? What would happen if he were to say, “Fuck you, I’m not gonna do it. I’m so awesome I can be both Chair of The Trump Organization and POTUS. And I’m for the little guy. Trust me, I won’t make money off my presidency. It’s unfair for the liberal media to say otherwise.” There is legislation about conflict of interest but nothing that requires you to put assets in a blind trust. [http://congressionalresearch.com/RS21656/document.php](http://congressionalresearch.com/RS21656/document.php) > [@](#): > > Initially, it should be noted > that there is no federal statute which expressly requires that particular federal officials > place assets into a “blind trust” upon entering public service with the Federal > Government. Rather, the use of a “blind trust” is one of several methods of conflict of > interest avoidance under federal law and regulation. Furthermore, I’m not sure if any of this legislation would apply to the President. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-what-happens-to-the-trump-organization/760688/6 "2016-07-24T01:57:48Z")
We’ve talked about this before. A lot of Trump’s assets are in real estate, which you can’t effectively put in a blind trust anyway. > [@](#): > > If Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, wins the general election in November, he would still be allowed to oversee operations and collect income from the more than 500 businesses he’s listed in a personal financial disclosure form filed with the Federal Election Commission. [http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-02/donald-trump-might-make-the-white-house-a-walmart](http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-02/donald-trump-might-make-the-white-house-a-walmart) > [@](#): > > “This is certainly going to present an unprecedented ethical dilemma if Trump wins,” said Kenneth Gross, a partner at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, who provided legal assistance to several presidential candidates during their campaigns. “He can’t just get amnesia. He’s stuck with the knowledge of what he owns.” > **[Trump's 500 businesses would pose 'unprecedented ethical dilemma'](https://money.cnn.com/2016/03/16/news/companies/donald-trump-ethics/)** > > Donald Trump's businesses would pose uncharted ethical issues if he were elected president. (warning: auto-play video)