'I Tell My Kids, Stay Away'—But They Made $580 Million Anyway: Inside Trump's Defiant Defense of His Family's Crypto Empire

Donald Trump has mounted a bullish defence of his family's burgeoning crypto empire in a fresh Oval Office interview, insisting there is 'nothing illegal' about more than $580 million in cryptocurrency‑related income reported from his first year back in the White House.

Speaking to CNBC presenter Joe Kernen at the White House on Thursday, the president argued that his adult children's ventures, including the Trump‑linked World Liberty Financial token, are legitimate private businesses and not a constitutional problem.

Trump said the presidency is now so powerful that 'almost anything' his children do risks being painted as a conflict of interest, from buying shares to purchasing a lorry.

'I tell my kids, "stay away",' he said, 'but they also have a life,' pointing out that his family 'were doing business long before I ever thought of running for president.'

'If They Buy An Energy Efficient Truck, They Have Inside Information'

The news came after Trump was pressed directly on whether he and his family are using the presidency to enrich themselves. Kernen framed the issue bluntly, noting that Trump entered office as an unprecedented billionaire businessman and that it was hardly shocking his companies were doing well.

Trump pointed to a stock market level of 'almost 53,000', arguing that markets had vastly outperformed expectations since his return to power, and that his own wealth was almost incidental in that context.

'Well, you know, I don't do anything having to do with my business. My kids run it,' he said. 'I'm a really good business person. I've made a tremendous amount of money, more than I would have ever thought I would have made.'

From there, he shifted to a near‑comical example of how far, in his view, conflict‑of‑interest accusations can be stretched.

'Every time my kids do, if they invest in a stock, or they go and do a deal, anything they do, because the presidency is so powerful, so big, everything, if they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy to make the cupcakes is sort of like, how's my energy policy, so therefore you have a conflict,' he said.

'Almost anything they do, if they want to buy a truck, if they want to buy, you know, if they buy an energy efficient truck, they have inside information.'

He added that he 'feels badly' for his children under this glare, repeating that he tells them to avoid deals 'as much as you can stay away from' while stressing that 'they also have a life.'

'Nothing Illegal' And A Much 'Bigger Purpose'

Trump's legal defence of his family's crypto empire hinges on a specific quirk of US ethics law.

He and Kernen cited Title 18, Section 208, which exempts the president and vice president from certain conflict‑of‑interest rules that bind most federal officials.

Asked whether he knew his family business would move into crypto, Trump initially replied 'No', before quickly adding that he could legally have been fully informed.

'I could know about it,' he said. 'I didn't, I mean, there's nothing illegal, there's nothing wrong with it. I could know.'

He stressed that his assets are placed with major investment firms, often in what he described as semi‑blind or blind trusts managed by his son Eric.

A small holding in NVIDIA, revealed in a recent story, did not bother him, he said, because it was just one of many shares picked by outside managers.

'You know why I don't care?' Trump asked. 'Because I have a much bigger purpose. You know, this, this is the Oval Office. It's a much bigger purpose than whether or not I make money.'

He reminded viewers that he had given up his presidential salary, claiming, 'I'm the only president they say that's ever given up my salary, I gave up my salary.'

Trump Recasts Crypto Question As Race With China

Whenever the conversation drifted too close to ethics, Trump tried to reframe crypto as a strategic issue rather than a personal one. He compared digital assets to artificial intelligence, describing both as arenas where the United States must dominate or risk being overtaken by rivals.

'The way I view crypto's a little differently, we have to be at the top, otherwise China's going to take it over,' he said.

Citing a recent meeting with China's President Xi, Trump claimed the US was 'leading substantially in AI over China and everybody else' and argued that the same must be true in cryptocurrency.

'It's a big industry, crypto, if you call it an industry, but it's a big deal, and crypto is a big deal,' he told Kernen. 'Anything we do, I want to be number one in, and we're number one in crypto, and we're also number one in AI.'

'We Were Doing Business Long Before I Ever Thought Of Running'

Trump repeatedly reminded Kernen that he had been a businessman, and a public one at that, for decades before entering politics, and that his children grew up in that world.

'We were doing business long before I ever thought of, you knew me a long time before I thought of even running,' Trump said. 'You knew me before I even thought about running for president.'

The pushback came two days after Trump's 2025 annual financial disclosure showed he had earned hundreds of millions of dollars from crypto ventures in that single year, his first back in office.

According to the filing, there was more than $580 million in crypto‑related income, including around $515 million from sales of the World Liberty Financial token and a further $65 million from selling equity in its holding company.

The numbers catapulted Trump, already a wealthy property developer, into a new category of digital‑asset beneficiary, and immediately triggered fresh questions about conflicts of interest and presidential ethics.

Trump chose to respond not with legalistic caution, but with a familiar mix of bravado, grievance and a claim that his critics simply do not understand how big business, or big power, really works.