文字起こし (en)

Guess where Trump's adult son Eric is right now? Well, he's with his father in China. Now, Eric Trump does not have a role in the U.S. government. In fact, he's supposed to be sort of firewalled off from any U.S. government activities because he took over the family businesses when his father reentered the White House, supposedly to prevent conflicts of interest. But there he is. You can see him. Now, I should say that when asked about Eric Trump joining the trip, the White House simply said that there were no conflicts of interest there. I guess thanks for that. A spokesperson for Eric himself said that Eric was just joining the president in his own personal capacity, saying that Eric will not participate in any discussions or meetings related to any business entity and that Eric Trump does not have business ventures in China or plans on doing business with China. Now, that is quite an interesting denial, given this piece in the Financial Times out just today. And here's the headline. Eric Trump joins Beijing trip as family linked group chases China deal. You see, Eric is on the board of a company called Alt 5 Sigma, and you can see him and Don Jr. here ringing the opening bell at the Nasdaq with the name of that company and the name of the Trump family crypto company right behind them Well today while Eric is in China with his dad the Financial Times is reporting that this company has a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential deal with a Chinese computer chip manufacturer to build AI data centers and a whole bunch of other AI related stuff Oh, and guess what else? That Chinese firm they have that memorandum of understanding with? Well, Congress has warned that that company is connected to the Chinese Communist Party. Now, neither the Chinese chip manufacturer or all five respondents at the Financial Times request for comment. But it certainly seems like Eric might be getting a little more than just quality time with his dad out of this China trip, doesn't it? I mean, I could go on and on and on about all of the sketchy ways that Trump's sons are making money while their dad is president. Just last month, Eric was on Fox Business bragging out loud about how one of his companies scored a $24 million contract with the Pentagon. Last year, a company partially owned by Trump's other adult son, Don Jr., landed a nearly $5 million contract with the U.S. Air Force. and both of Trump's sons are now part owners in a new drone company that is hoping to win major Pentagon contracts. Now, I should say that all of those companies deny there's any conflict of interest, as do Don and Eric. But wouldn't it be great if someone, say, the IRS were to check, given how clear the potential conflicts of interest are? You would think that Trump and his sons would deserve more financial scrutiny, not less. But nope.