Trump’s disclosures, highlighted in a federal ethics report reviewed by the Associated Press, show a portfolio managed through a high volume of transactions during the first quarter of 2026 rather than a move to avoid knowing what his investments held. The AP reported that the report includes more than 3,600 buy and sell orders over three months, with a pace that averaged about 50 trades per day when markets were open.
The filing also describes Trump’s stock trades in companies whose fortunes, critics and ethics officials say, could be influenced by the administration’s decisions. Among them, the AP said the portfolio included Nvidia, and it tied the holding to the fact that Trump approved advanced chips for sale to China last year.
In addition, the AP reported that Trump’s trades included shares in defense suppliers affected by the U.S. approach to the Iran war, including Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman. The report also listed other major companies, including Apple, Boeing and Tesla, and it said the CEOs of all four accompanied Trump on his visit to China recently.
Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics adviser under George W. Bush and a critic of congressional stock trading, said the situation would amount to a crime if Trump were a defense secretary. Painter told the AP that “If he were defense secretary, he would be committing a crime,” adding, “Technically he can do this, but it is a fundamental breach of trust.”
The Associated Press reported that U.S. law bans federal employees from holding financial assets that could be impacted by their policy work, while also citing a carveout for the president. It also said ethics officials have pointed out that even the knowledge of what is in the president’s portfolio could affect decisions ranging from health policy to government contracting and war.
A spokesperson for the Trump family business disputed that the president played a role in selecting or managing specific investments. Kimberly Benza said in a statement that third parties with “sole and exclusive” authority made investment decisions and that “Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments.” Benza also said they “receive no advance notice of trading activity and provide no input regarding investment decisions or portfolio management.”
The AP reported that the ethics filing runs more than 100 pages and shows possibly more than $100 million changing hands over three months, with the report listing ranges rather than exact figures for each transaction. It said the report shows more purchases than sales but that a precise buy-versus-sell ratio could not be determined from the ranges provided.
The Associated Press also reported that Trump has traditionally had relatively little invested in the stock market compared with his net worth, but that this could be changing alongside his increased wealth. The report said the Trump Organization had taken in tens of millions in upfront fees from overseas developers seeking to put his name on resorts and hundreds of millions from cryptocurrency sales, much of it anonymous and making it difficult to determine whether buyers were trying to curry favor.
All recent U.S. presidents, according to the AP, have generally avoided the issue by dumping stock holdings before taking office, placing their assets in broadly diversified funds, or setting up a “blind” trust. The Associated Press cited that the blind trust approach was taken by George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, while it said George W. Bush dumped his stocks, Barack Obama used broadly diversified mutual funds, and Joe Biden did not trade. In the AP’s description, Trump’s disclosures instead reflect continued trading after he returned to the presidency.