President Donald Trump has promoted more than 20 companies, including Nvidia, Tesla and Apple, within days of buying their shares, according to a CNN investigation.
Summary
- CNN linked Trump’s company promotion to a stock purchase made a few days earlier.
- Trump bought up to $500,000 in Nvidia shares before announcing the fast-track AI approvals.
- The findings added pressure to include ethics rules in the CLARITY Act.
CNN found that several Truth Social posts announced or recommended government actions that would benefit companies held in Trump’s investment accounts. The report has renewed questions about whether his financial interests conflict with decisions made by his administration.
Among the analyzed cases, CNN pointed to the post of 2025 in which Trump announced that his administration would accelerate the permits required by Nvidia and similar companies to build supercomputers made in the United States.
Financial records reviewed by CNN showed that Trump had bought between $200,000 and $500,000 worth of Nvidia shares in the days before publishing the post. The investigation also linked the timing of his purchase to later public comments involving Tesla, Apple and other major companies.
CNN reported no evidence that Trump personally ordered trade or made government decisions related to increasing the value of his assets. However, the outlet reported that Trump did not place his assets in a blind trust, leaving open the possibility that he may not know what his investment managers are buying or selling.
The White House denies that Trump is controlling trade
In response to this report, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that Trump does not manage accounts involved in trading. According to Kelly, his assets are “held in special accounts managed by independent third-party institutions.”
Trump also said that professional fund managers manage his funds, according to a previous report by crypto.news. His defense separates the timing of the trade from his actions, although CNN noted that the arrangement does not meet the requirements of a blind trust.
Attorney Rosa DeLauro criticized the transaction after CNN published its findings. Writing in X, the Democratic Alliance lawyer described the situation as: “His profit and his friends are billionaires, the prices are high for you.”
The White House response cited by CNN or Trump’s previous comments did not address all of the companies identified in the investigation. CNN also reported that there was no finding that the traders violated federal securities laws.
Stock tests add pressure to CLARITY discussions
Questions about Trump’s stock holdings have come up as lawmakers debate whether the CLARITY Act should bar top government officials from participating in the crypto industry. According to the report, the ethics provision remains a key point of disagreement in efforts to gain bipartisan support for the market structure bill.
Trump’s 2025 financial disclosures have added to the controversy by showing that he has earned as much as $1.4 billion in crypto-related activities. Critics in Congress have cited those earnings while seeking legislation that would limit the president’s ability to profit from digital assets during his term.
When asked earlier about his cryptocurrency, Trump denied knowing the amount he received, according to CNN. He also pointed out that receiving a salary would not be legal even if he knew about it.
The stock probe is expected to follow Trump in his meeting with senators on the CLARITY Act. Lawmakers have yet to decide whether the bill will include limits on conflicts of interest involving the president and other senior officials.
