'Holy sh*t! Nixon's back!' Internet aghast as Trump claims POTUS can’t have conflicts of interest

Donald Trump met with the New York Times editorial board Tuesday for an on-record meeting about plans for his transition and upcoming administration.

The far-ranging discussion, which began with the president-elect lamenting the New York Times for it’s “unfair” coverage of his campaign and insisting he’d like to improve his relationship with the paper to “make his job easier,” also hit upon issues including Trump’s neo-Nazi supporters (“it’s not a group I want to energize”) and his relationship with Republican leaders (“right now, they’re in love with me”).

But the most pressing concern that arose over the meeting involved potential conflicts of interest arising from Trump’s unprecedented business investments in the United States and across the globe. During the campaign, Trump promised to hand off his business to his children in a pseudo-“blind trust,” but in the days since his election it’s become clear the president-elect has no plans to detach himself from his personal interests.

During the meeting, the New York Times asked about potential conflicts of interest stemming from his newfound role as president. In response, the president-elect brushed aside concerns, insisting the law is “totally on [his] side.”

Naturally, Twitter took issue with Trump’s characterization of the presidency as immune from conflicts of interest, with some pointing out that his sentiment echoes that of a former Republican president:

Others noted that Trump’s emphasis on his personal brand is inherently a conflict of interest.

Others reasoned Trump is simply oblivious to what a conflict of interest actually entails.