Donald Trump made nearly 28,700 stock trades in 17 months, more than the entire Congress’s 22,200 combined, even as he pushes a lawmaker trading ban that leaves his own portfolio untouched.
The figures, drawn from a Bloomberg review of disclosures through June, land as Republicans turn stock trading into a campaign issue ahead of the midterms.
A Trading Ban That Exempts Trump
House Republicans passed a bill in July barring members of Congress, spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks. The measure says nothing about the president.
Trump has backed the bill. He told Congress in his State of the Union address that it should pass “without delay.”
The White House says outside firms manage his holdings through index-tracking models. It says neither Trump nor his family directs any trades.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna is a lead sponsor of the ban. She framed it as an accountability measure at a Republican convention in Dallas last week.
“The American people deserve to know that those they elect to public office actually serve the American people and not their own wallets.”
Same Pattern, Different Target
Trump has pushed back hard on Republicans who want the ban to cover him too. He called Senator Josh Hawley a “pawn” last year after Hawley proposed extending trading limits to the presidency.
Trump has also called for scrutiny of Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading. His own disclosures show a similar pattern.
He has touted stock gains within days of buying into companies. That includes a DoorDash stake he held before hosting a White House delivery event.
Asked about the appearance of a conflict, Trump defended the trades.
“Because the stock market’s going up. Everybody’s profiting.”
A May Economist/YouGov poll found three-quarters of Americans want elected officials barred from trading stocks. Support for a ban, however, has not translated into enforcement.
Penalties under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 start at just $200. Legal experts say the Department of Justice would struggle to enforce any ban against a sitting president.
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