President Donald Trump is so wealthy he doesn’t need to trade stocks himself, argued Vice President JD Vance, after the President’s ethics report last week revealed a flurry of stock trading in an account held in Trump’s name.
During an hour-long press conference Tuesday, Vance defended Trump, following criticism that emerged last week about stock trades made by the President’s account during the first quarter. The account made about 3,700 stock trades in the first three months of the year, according to a report by the Office of Government Ethics. In some cases the manager of the account purchased shares from companies that the President subsequently lauded at events or on social media.
Vance rejected the idea that Trump was the one behind these trades or that he has any influence over them. He said that as “a wealthy person” who “has had success in business,” the President can afford to delegate the management of his investments to other people.
“The president doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer, on his like Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks. That’s absurd,” said Vance. “He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money.”
When reached for comment, the White House referred Fortune to the Trump Organization. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization previously told Fortune’s Eva Roytburg that Trump’s investment holdings are operated by third-party financial institutions with “sole and exclusive authority over all investment decisions,” and that trades are executed through “automated investment processes.” The organization did not immediately respond to Fortune’s more recent request for comment.
President Trump’s stocks have raised questions about his public praise of companies in which he appeared to have recently acquired financial stakes.
Trump praised data analytics company Palantir in a Truth Social post on April 10 in which he included the company’s stock ticker: “Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has great war fighting capabilities and equipment. Just ask our enemies!!!” At the time, the post helped buoy the stock, which was trading down 4.7% before the post and closed out the day about flat. The disclosure last week revealed that Trump’s account bought up Palantir shares at least 10 different times in the first three months of the year in what could have amounted to a maximum investment of $695,000. Trump also sold millions of dollars worth of Palantir shares during the same period.
After Dell founder Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, pledged $6.25 billion to support Trump’s “Invest America” accounts for children under 18, the President praised the computer company and its founder in several public appearances. He first praised Dell at an economic event in Rome, Georgia on February 19, telling the crowd to “go out and buy a Dell computer.” Earlier this month during an event in the White House Rose Garden just before Mother’s Day, Trump again praised Dell: “Go out and buy a Dell. They’re great,” he said. This second mention helped the stock skyrocket 14% to an all-time-high. The disclosure last week revealed Trump’s account in the first quarter of this year bought between $1 million to $5 million of Dell stock, along with at least three other smaller purchases worth tens of thousands of dollars, that taken together could have totaled up to a maximum investment of $5.1 million.
Trump also praised semiconductor company Micron Technology in a Fox News interview in late March where he touted companies building manufacturing plants in the U.S., calling Micron “one of the hottest companies.” The disclosure last week revealed a purchase of between $100,000 and $250,000 in the company, along with two purchases between $50,000 and $100,000, and several other purchases worth tens of thousands of dollars, all in the first quarter of this year, that all told could have totaled up to a maximum investment of $530,000, according to the disclosure.
Trump’s net worth stood at $6.5 billion as of March, according to Forbes.
Vance has previously come out against members of Congress trading stocks. While a candidate for a Senate seat in Ohio in 2022, Vance criticized Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her stock trading, claiming that Pelosi was “privy to secret information” that she leveraged to enrich herself.
Under the STOCK Act, passed in 2012 under President Obama, the President, Vice President, and members of Congress are required to disclose stock trades over $1,000 within 45 days of the purchase. The disclosure filed by President Trump last week was designed to comply with the requirements of the STOCK Act. Trump was set to be fined $200, however, for failing to reveal trades of Amazon and Microsoft stock until after the deadline, the Washington Post reported.
Trump in his State of the Union Address in February called for Congress to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act, a bill introduced in the House in January. Critics have said the act contains loopholes that would keep it from preventing lawmakers from trading on non-public information.
During the press conference Tuesday, Vance said both he and President Trump support banning members of Congress from selling stocks.
“All of us believe that nobody should be taking proprietary information gained from public service and buying and selling stocks,” said Vance. “We want to ban that process.”
