Stephanie Ruhle: Trump’s latest business venture is a conflict of interest waiting to happen

This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 16 episode of “Inside with Jen Psaki.”

On Monday night, during a livestream on X, Donald Trump unveiled his latest business venture: World Liberty Financial. It’s basically a crypto stock exchange where you can borrow, lend and invest.

Alongside Trump, founders include Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump, according to a person briefed by a member of the group’s founding team. Now, it’s not like Trump himself is running this business, the company has a disclaimer noting it’s not owned or managed by the Trumps. It does note, however, that they can get paid.

During the livestream, Trump talked about his sons’ interests in the crypto world, particularly 18-year-old Barron: “He talks about his wallet, he’s got four wallets or something, and I’ll say ‘WHAT is a wallet?’”

Clearly, we’re not talking about Warren Buffett here. It’s obvious Trump doesn’t know a thing about the crypto business. Just a couple of years ago, Trump said crypto wasn’t even money and that it was “based on thin air.” However, it just so happens that one of the best places you can have a true grift right now is crypto. 

Another man involved in the Trumps’ venture is Chase Herro. As reported by Bloomberg’s Zeke Faux, Herro is a self-described “dirtbag” whose business ventures include weed, weight loss colon cleanse and get-rich-quick courses. In 2018, Herro summed up the crypto business by remarking, “You can literally sell s––– in a can, wrapped in p–––, covered in human skin, for a billion dollars if the story’s right, because people will buy it.” 

That’s the type of person our potential next president is getting into business with.

If Trump wins in November, he would be in a position to choose the SEC chair, a person who has enormous responsibility for regulating the cryptocurrency industry. That’s a massive conflict of interest. If the president of the United States can stand to make a fortune if a business has little to no regulation, the American people must pay attention.

Stephanie Ruhle

Stephanie Ruhle is host of “The 11th Hour” at 11 p.m. ET on MSNBC and senior business analyst for NBC News.

Charles Herman and Allison Detzel contributed.