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Corruption! Ben Shapiro sounds alarm on Trump’s overseas business dealings 

There’s a longstanding ethical debate in this country about conflicts of interest and the presidency. But what we’re looking at now isn’t abstract. It’s concrete. It’s billions of dollars. And it’s happening in real time.  

On “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” host David Remnick pressed conservative commentator Ben Shapiro with a question a lot of Americans are asking.  

“There was an article in the Wall Street Journal just a couple of days ago describing the fishy investments from Abu Dhabi into the Trump family. Our reporter, David Kirkpatrick, who’s extremely conservative in his calculations, has said that the Trump family has enriched itself to the tune of $4 billion since taking office again in 2024. Does this concern you at all?”  

Here was Shapiro’s response:  

“Of course. I’ve been calling this out since, I think, before pretty much anybody else. I mean, early on in the Trump administration, when World Liberty Financial was pretty clearly making a fair bit of money over in the Middle East, I raised red flags on my show, consistently, about how I thought this was wrong. If the name were Biden instead of Trump, people would be screaming bloody murder.”  

Precisely. This isn’t about partisan score-settling. It’s about whether the presidency is being used to serve the public, or to serve the president’s portfolio.  

Reporting from outlets including The New York Times and Reuters lays out a pattern: overseas licensing deals worth at least $23 million since re-election. More than 20 foreign projects, from Oman to India to Saudi Arabia, often requiring cooperation from foreign governments. In one case, tariffs on Vietnam were lowered shortly after a $1.5 billion Trump Organization golf project broke ground outside Hanoi, reportedly fast-tracked by Vietnamese officials.  

Then there’s crypto. Reuters reports that Trump’s digital coin ventures have become his biggest moneymaker — an avenue where people, including foreign actors, can buy in, often quietly, while the administration makes policy decisions that affect them.  

A review cited by the Times editorial board estimates at least $1.4 billion in gains tied to the presidency. It’s good to know that they acknowledged that number to be an underestimate because of hidden profits. Another review by The New Yorker found that number to be closer to $3.5 billion.  

The exact financial arrangements remain opaque. But what’s clear is this: Discussions of trade, military assistance, and diplomacy are now inextricably entwined with the president’s private business interests.  

Even Ben Shapiro, who campaigned for Trump in 2024 and says the “guardrails” are holding, acknowledges the corruption concern. He calls Trump “financially corrupt and morally wanting,” yet still defends him as a better binary choice.  

Sigh. That’s where we are.  

We’ve normalized a system where the bar isn’t “Is this ethical?” It’s “As long as the person is in my party.” The Constitution anticipated foreign influence. That’s why the Emoluments Clause exists. The presidency was never meant to be a profit center.  

You can argue about policy wins. You can argue about immigration, judges, the economy. But if we can’t agree that leveraging the Oval Office for personal enrichment is dangerous, no matter the party, then we’re not debating ideology anymore. We’re debating whether the presidency is a public trust or a private business opportunity.  

Lindsey Granger is a NewsNation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.   

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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