Trump Retail Biz Launched Last Year Raked In More Than $100K In 2017
President Donald Trump earned $107,186 last year from the LLC behind TrumpStore.com, a website for Trump-branded merchandise, USA Today reported Thursday.
USA Today discovered that the retail website was linked to a company listed on the President’s most recent financial disclosure called “T Retail LLC.” The company lists Donald Trump Jr. as president and manager and the Trump Organization’s Allen Weisselberg as vice president, secretary and treasurer, the paper noted.
For a week, the Trump Organization refused to acknowledge that T Retail LLC was behind TrumpStore.com. The company acknowledged the link after USA Today published its story:
UPDATE: Following publication of our story — and after a week of ignoring questions — the Trump Organization confirmed the mysterious new LLC from which President Trump earned $107K in 2017 is the entity behind https://t.co/KT6kxbjAPm, a new store selling items with Trump's name. https://t.co/RiT2SMroOi
— Steve Reilly (@BySteveReilly) May 24, 2018
In the paper’s words, “the Trump Organization spokeswoman said following publication of this story Thursday that it’s nothing new for The Trump Organization to sell merchandise bearing his name. The company has been selling those kinds of items online since long before Trump became president.”
TrumpStore.com, which launched in November 2017, offers a range of items bearing the President’s name, from Trump-branded dog toys to Trump-branded portable USB chargers.
USA Today’s Steve Reilly noted on Twitter that revenue from Trump’s in-person store in Trump Tower was listed separately on his financial disclosure.
The Trump Org. confirmed that T Retail LLC is https://t.co/KT6kxbjAPm, but also said President Trump's income from the new physical Trump Store location in Trump Tower is disclosed separately in his financial disclosure form — meaning total of the two was more than $107K.
— Steve Reilly (@BySteveReilly) May 24, 2018