President Donald Trump has snapped up tens of thousands of dollars in stocks in the parent company of a White House event he's heavily promoting.
The president purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 of stock in TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship event he's holding next month on the South Lawn to celebrate his 80th birthday, reported HuffPost.
“We’re going to have 4,000 seats right in front of the front door of the White House," Trump said when he announced the bout last summer. "The hardest ticket I’ve ever had, too. This will be the greatest show on Earth.”
Trump has been promoting the event ever since, hosting UFC fighters May 6 at the Oval Office, and construction began earlier this week on support structures for the June 14 fights.
“Grifting has always been an issue in Donald Trump’s presidency, but now the mask is off,” said Jordan Libowitz, of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “Using the White House to promote a company whose stock you bought while promoting it is one of the worst conflicts of interest you could imagine. The agenda of this administration seems to start and stop with how to make Donald Trump richer.”
The president has actively bought and sold million of dollars in stock in companies he promotes or regulates as head of the executive branch, but Vice President JD Vance and White House officials have insisted he does not personally decide on his investments.
