Trump Explains Why His Wealth Increased by Rp40.29 Trillion During His Presidency

US President Donald Trump has denied using his office to enrich himself and his family, following the release of an annual financial disclosure report showing he earned a total of US$2.24 billion (Rp40.29 trillion) during his first year back in the White House. The 927-page report, released on Tuesday, revealed that a significant portion of the massive income surge came from cryptocurrency ventures linked to his family, with more than US$580 million generated from the sector, including US$515 million from sales of World Liberty Financial (WLF) tokens and US$65 million from equity sales in the WLF holding company. When pressed on the US$1.2 billion in personal crypto profits, Trump insisted there was no illegality, noting that federal conflict-of-interest laws do not require the president or vice president to divest from personal financial decisions. ‘I gave up my salary. I don’t take a salary,’ Trump stated during an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen in the Oval Office on Thursday, emphasising that the presidency was a ‘higher purpose’ than making money. Regarding potential conflicts of interest involving his children’s business empires, Trump claimed he has no personal knowledge of who manages his investment portfolios. He asserted that the assets were placed into a blind trust managed by large firms, with his son Eric Trump acting as the primary manager without any business communication with him. Trump argued that the immense power of the presidency makes any business activity by his children vulnerable to accusations of conflict, as government policy touches nearly every economic sector. ‘In a way, I feel sorry for my kids. Whatever they do, because the presidency is so powerful… if they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy for making the cupcakes, you know, what’s my energy policy? You have a conflict. Almost everything they do… So it’s quite tough in that sense,’ he lamented, adding that he had asked his children to stay away from business as much as possible, though they were in business long before he ran for office. When questioned about the focus on his new digital wealth, Trump pivoted to global technology competition, arguing that the US must dominate the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries to prevent China from seizing control of the future. ‘The way I look at AI, or the way I look at crypto, is if we don’t do it, China is going to get it,’ Trump concluded in his defence.