CNBC Host Presses Don Jr. On Investments in Musk’s SpaceX and More: People ‘Wonder if This is Just Crony Capitalism’

Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday disputed the claims that his investments present a conflict of interest with his father in the Oval Office.

The Trump family has faced intense scrutiny due to a number of business dealings coming from the Trump Organization — the massive conglomerate founded by President Donald Trump and currently led by his sons. Some have cried foul over the organization’s moves, arguing that Trump has been leveraging his power in the White House to enrich his family. He and his sons have repeatedly refuted those claims.

On Wednesday, Trump Jr. was confronted on that narrative by CNBC’s Sara Eisen. In response, he insisted that the dealings were simply “common sense investments” to benefit the U.S.:

EISEN: You’ve said a few times, you’re not in the government; but obviously, your father is president and a lot of people see your investments in companies like SpaceX — which is trying to get FAA contracts and approvals. You’re in defense companies as well, and they wonder if this is just crony capitalism.

TRUMP JR.: Not at all. We stay totally out of that. We don’t get involved in that. These are things that make sense for America. They’re just, they’re common sense investments. We don’t have to call the government to invest in something that’s beneficial to America. That’s the entire ethos of what we’ve been doing.

Don’t forget, we were doing these things when it wasn’t popular. We were doing these things under the prior Biden administration. We were taking on free speech then when doing that and defending our side was practically a jailable offense — and, in our case, they tried very hard. So there’s nothing like that at all and we wouldn’t do it.

Watch above via CNBC

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