International News
USA: Trump Raises Fresh Conflict Of Interest Concerns
Donald Trump’s impending White House return poses questions once again about conflicts of interest related to his business empire, with new cryptocurrency and other ventures raising fresh concerns.
The billionaire’s stunning political comeback is “rocket fuel for the Trump Empire,” said Mark Hass, an Arizona State University marketing professor.
After almost a decade of making headlines around the globe, Trump’s “brand is… sort of the Nike or Apple of politics,” he said.
“Everybody in the world knows what it stands for.
Trump no longer holds an executive title at the Trump Organization, which has been run by his two eldest sons since his 2016 election win.
However, the 78-year-old has retained his stake in the family business via a trust, which during his first term in office was managed by a third party.
After he left the White House, Trump made himself a co-administrator of the trust. He has yet to say if he will relinquish the position when he takes office again in January.
Regardless, according to Hass, Trump’s association with his businesses will persist.
“Maybe he does not have a direct role in it, but you couldn’t get as close to the business without directly running it, than having your sons run it and to have your name on it,” he said.
Tim Calkins, a Northwestern University marketing professor, said that Trump’s victory has likely revived the family’s brand.
“Brands are associations and at the moment the Trump brand is associated with winning, comebacks and momentum,” he told AFP.
“Trump is still a very polarizing brand, but the election outcome has strengthened the positive associations,” he said.
Since Trump’s last term in office, the family business has struck substantial deals overseas, with several linked to Saudi Arabia.
The Trump Organization has partnered with Saudi developer Dar Global on a high-rise apartment complex in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, a luxury building in Dubai and a hotel complex in Oman.
It has also signed an agreement with LIV Golf, controlled by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, and has hosted several LIV events on Trump-owned golf courses.
Haas said that such partners understand the contracts give them “influence” over Trump, and will ultimately produce financial benefits for him.
Stock price
Trump’s conflicts of interest will be “a lot worse” than his last presidency, said Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications at CREW, a government ethics watchdog group.
Libowitz pointed to Trump’s expanded portfolio, which now includes a media group trading on the public market.
“There’s nothing stopping, say, the Saudi wealth fund, the Emirati wealth fund, the Kuwait wealth fund — which all do major investments in technology stocks… from pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the stock,” he said.
Trump owns nearly 53 percent of the Trump Media Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of his Truth Social platform.
That stake is currently valued at around $3.8 billion — making up the majority of his estimated $5.9 billion wealth, according to Forbes.
Foreign investors buying up the stock could raise its price greatly, said Libowitz. “But they can also crash it by selling all en masse.”
The New York Post has reported, citing members of Trump’s campaign team, that billionaire ally Elon Musk is considering acquiring Truth Social through X, his platform formerly known as Twitter.
The president-elect has also recently ventured into the world of cryptocurrencies, joining his sons in backing a new exchange platform called World Liberty Financial.
Trump is not a shareholder or board member of the start-up, but will receive compensation for the platform using his name.
“It’s still not clear how it works or what it’s doing,” Libowitz said. “But cryptocurrency is notorious for its ability to funnel money anonymously, particularly from overseas.”
CREW is considering filing suit against Trump — as it did during his first administration — arguing that the president is receiving payments from foreign clients in violation of the US Constitution.
The group’s previous suit eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, but it was dismissed because Trump had already left the White House.
“I think it’ll be a much more transactional presidency, because there are no obstacles,” Hass said of Trump’s second term.
“Trump, if nothing else, understands how to monetize his name and his fame.”
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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