Trump Family Gets Bad News

A new poll shows that a clear majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump and his family should not be profiting from cryptocurrency while he is serving as president.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 63 percent of respondents considered it inappropriate for Trump and his family to make money from cryptocurrency during his presidency. Just 32 percent said they disagreed, while another 5 percent did not provide an answer.

The findings come as scrutiny continues to grow around Trump’s personal financial interests in the cryptocurrency industry. The president has embraced digital assets as part of his administration’s broader economic agenda, while businesses connected to his family have also expanded their involvement in the sector.

Trump’s financial disclosures released earlier this summer showed hundreds of millions of dollars in income connected to cryptocurrency ventures. The filings indicated that Trump earned approximately $594 million from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company he launched with his sons two years ago.

The disclosures also showed another roughly $635 million tied to Trump’s cryptocurrency meme coin, bringing his reported crypto-related income to more than $1 billion.

Those figures have attracted criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who have questioned whether the president’s financial interests could create conflicts while his administration develops policies affecting the cryptocurrency industry.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin and Ron Wyden have called for greater scrutiny of Trump’s crypto holdings. The lawmakers have also raised questions about outside parties connected to World Liberty Financial and whether the president’s financial relationships could create national security concerns.

The controversy centers in part on the unusual overlap between Trump’s political position and his family’s business interests. While the administration is promoting policies designed to strengthen the cryptocurrency sector in the United States, Trump and members of his family stand to benefit financially from the growth of businesses tied to digital assets.

Trump has rejected suggestions that his cryptocurrency earnings involve wrongdoing. In an interview earlier this year, he dismissed concerns about the large sums listed in his financial disclosures and said there was nothing illegal about the arrangement.

The poll indicates, however, that many Americans remain uncomfortable with the situation.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted from Aug. 14 through Aug. 17 and included 1,166 respondents. The poll has a margin of error of three percentage points.

The results could add another layer to the growing political debate over presidential conflicts of interest, particularly as Trump continues to promote cryptocurrency while his family maintains substantial financial interests in the industry.