# Will Trump Keep His Business Interests Separate from the Presidency? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 20, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600 "2016-11-20T22:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/81 "2016-11-23T04:27:56Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I can see it, if Trump was an even bigger liar than we all knew he was and has absolutely no intention of fulfilling any of his campaign promises, indeed if he starts listening to Democrats and signalling he’ll veto legislation that doesn’t fit with blue-state New York’s interests. > > Meantime, Pence is cultivating friendships in Congress, leaving the impression he’d be the president congressional Republicans wanted in the first place… > > I’d frankly be quite surprised if congressional Republicans felt Trump was deserving of their personal loyalty just because he chose to run under their party’s banner. They’ll cosy up to him _now_, while he remains a governing unknown, but that can evaporate with ease. If congress stays red in 2018 and Trump’s popularity sours with the doofi that elected him, well… if I were Pence, I’d keep a bag packed. This is plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/82 "2016-11-23T04:39:28Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I can see it, if Trump was an even bigger liar than we all knew he was and has absolutely no intention of fulfilling any of his campaign promises, indeed if he starts listening to Democrats and signalling he’ll veto legislation that doesn’t fit with blue-state New York’s interests. Especially if he really pisses off his base with a lot of cavalier disregard for their pet campaign objectives. He’s already said (at least for now) that putting Hillary Clinton in jail is no longer something he cares about, and a lot of his Hillary-hating voters are angry about that. Dissing white supremacists, doing some kind of ecumenical event with American Muslims, saying nice things about immigrants, etc., would turn many of his deplorables firmly against him. Then the Republican establishment and a lot of his more reluctant supporters could ostentatiously wash their hands of him with little or no pushback. Meanwhile, they could preen about their “integrity” in sacrificing a fellow Republican for his unethical behavior, while seizing the opportunity to replace him with a more “presentable” and “respectable” conservative of the kind they really preferred all along. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/83 "2016-11-23T04:45:38Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Especially if he really pisses off his base with a lot of cavalier disregard for their pet campaign objectives. He’s already said (at least for now) that putting Hillary Clinton in jail is no longer something he cares about, and a lot of his Hillary-hating voters are angry about that. Dissing white supremacists, doing some kind of ecumenical event with American Muslims, saying nice things about immigrants, etc., would turn many of his deplorables firmly against him. > > Then the Republican establishment and a lot of his more reluctant supporters could ostentatiously wash their hands of him with little or no pushback. Meanwhile, they could preen about their “integrity” in sacrificing a fellow Republican for his unethical behavior, while seizing the opportunity to replace him with a more “presentable” and “respectable” conservative of the kind they really preferred all along. There is a certain logic to that, but I have hard time seeing it play out. You’d have to get way too many Republicans to agree to risk this action, both in the House and the Senate. I think it would have to be something much more objectionable than conflict of interest in businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/84 "2016-11-23T04:54:53Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > In what fantasy world would a Republican-dominated Congress ever consider impeaching Donald Trump? They might decide they want Pence in instead; he’s a far right True Believer. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/85 "2016-11-23T04:59:02Z")
I figure incidentally that if Democrats get the House or Senate or both in 2018, Trump is _less_ likely to be impeached because those Democrats would rather focus on defeating him in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/86 "2016-11-23T05:02:54Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I figure incidentally that if Democrats get the House or Senate or both in 2018, Trump is _less_ likely to be impeached because those Democrats would rather focus on defeating him in 2020. It’s unlikely the Republicans will ever let the Democrats win an election again now that they control the government. There’s not going to be many Democratic votes when the Republicans can get away with nationwide Pence-style raids on voting registration centers, or surround polling places with police under orders to keep out “undesirables”; meaning anyone who isn’t white. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/87 "2016-11-23T05:09:02Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > In what fantasy world would a Republican-dominated Congress ever consider impeaching Donald Trump? Dream on, everyone. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > They might decide they want Pence in instead; he’s a far right True Believer. They have to want Pence and be willing to go thru the painful process not only of impeachment, but of removal from office. And they have to get a bunch of Democrats in the Senate to agree with them. The odds are slightly better than CA seceding, if that makes you feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/88 "2016-11-23T05:16:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The odds are slightly better than CA seceding, if that makes you feel better. The odds of California seceding is zero. California has neither a huge army nor nuclear weapons to hold the US off. And the Republicans would love the chance to militarily crush California and kill a few million “homosexuals and liberal traitors” in the process. All for the “good of the nation”, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/89 "2016-11-23T08:39:32Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > He’s already said (at least for now) that putting Hillary Clinton in jail is no longer something he cares about, and a lot of his Hillary-hating voters are angry about that. Old Obama got away with that, in re Bush and his torturers. How many Democrats and lefties give a crap ? Pretty much the same with Gitmo, and his personal weekly video drone killings — which now Trump will be using _if_ he wants to. I doubt if it’s worse to be blown apart by Trump than by Obama — for the victim. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/90 "2016-11-23T12:35:26Z")
No, I do not expect Trump will set up a blind trust. But, even though this is the Pit, I have a serious question: _ **How would it even be possible for Trump to set up a blind trust?** _ For someone whose wealth is very liquid, it’s relatively easy to gradually convert much of it into generic assets like bonds and S&P 500 index shares. But how could you do anything like that with the privately-held Trump Organization? You could auction the whole Organization off to the highest bidder but this would lead to a huge loss for the Trump family. You could remove all Trumps from management and let trustees take over, but buying and selling big hotels is big business and (especially since the “TRUMP” brand-name is essential to Trump’s business) Trump would know where his assets were without even trying. _How could Trump set up a “blind trust” even if he wanted to, without suffering a huge financial loss?_ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/91 "2016-11-23T12:48:53Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > We should never have to wonder if the president is looking out for us, or for himself. This is true, but, unfortunately, not realistically possible until January 2020 at the earliest. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/92 "2016-11-23T14:19:16Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > _How could Trump set up a “blind trust” even if he wanted to, without suffering a huge financial loss?_ 1. He should have thought of that before running. 2. He claims he’s worth 10 billion. He can afford it. a. If he’s not worth that much, sucks to be a liar. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/93 "2016-11-23T15:51:30Z")
Trump’s definition of “blind trust” is “If I keep them blind as to what I plan and/or do, those idiots will actually trust me.” ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/94 "2016-11-23T18:41:08Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > If he had to liquidate, would that not, like, expose how much his businesses are \*really \*worth? Bullseye He values his business based on his “feelings” at the moment. The rest of the world probably would not. If he had to liquidate not only would we know that, but he basically would have to say how much his children were going to get out of his estate, and let his business counterparts know this too. His only strength is that people do not know what he is worth, and how much debt he owes and to whom. If this were known he would lose perhaps the only ace he has in any of his dealings at all. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/95 "2016-11-23T20:41:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Are you congenitally stupid, or do you work at it? Both? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/96 "2016-11-23T20:45:24Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The odds of California seceding is zero. California has neither a huge army nor nuclear weapons to hold the US off. And the Republicans would love the chance to militarily crush California and kill a few million “homosexuals and liberal traitors” in the process. All for the “good of the nation”, of course. But the they lose the millions in taxes and subsidy money they drain off year after year. Cali is their cash cow. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/97 "2016-11-23T22:12:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > 1. He should have thought of that before running. > 2. He claims he’s worth 10 billion. He can afford it. > a. If he’s not worth that much, sucks to be a liar. Perhaps he did think of it before running and concluded that no law existed to require a blind trust, so he wasn’t going to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/98 "2016-11-23T22:48:18Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Perhaps he did think of it before running and concluded that no law existed to require a blind trust, so he wasn’t going to do it. :dubious: Because we all know how scrupulously careful Donald Trump is to avoid ever doing anything that would violate a law. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/99 "2016-11-23T23:42:41Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > But the they lose the millions in taxes and subsidy money they drain off year after year. Cali is their cash cow. They care much more about crushing everyone else into submission and tormenting their enemies than they do about money. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600/100 "2016-11-23T23:43:41Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “The media” favors whoever draws eyeballs. So the media doesn’t favor Harold Gray, Bill Watterson, or Jef Mallett? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-keep-his-business-interests-separate-from-the-presidency/772600.md?page=6)