John,
Less than two weeks after President Trump returned from an official visit to India, his business made an announcement: it would now ship Trump-branded products to India.
The Trump family pledged that they would not take on new foreign business during the Trump presidency. This is a blatant violation of that promise to the American people.
It is also an invitation for foreign nationals to funnel money straight into President Trump’s pocket, secretly and legally. The list of countries where Trump-branded products are now being sold, in addition to India, includes Germany, Canada, England, Scotland and Ireland, and seems far from random. India hosts the most Trump-branded properties of any country outside of the US, and Ireland and Scotland are both home to struggling Trump golf properties. In fact, Trump’s Doonbeg property has never turned a profit in the time he’s owned it, and has lost his company millions of dollars. That also happens to be the property that Vice President Mike Pence racked up $600,000 in limo bills visiting last August on the taxpayer dime.
The fact that the Trump Store announced shipping to India just two weeks after Trump made an official visit is suspect. The fact that most of the other countries are home to Trump properties is also suspect.
But the truth is this: there is no good time for the president’s personal business to announce it will be profiting in foreign countries, and there are no good countries for a president to solicit profits from while in office.
None of this is normal, and we can’t forget that.
Thank you for standing with us,
Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW
