Trump sons have met with officials from 8 foreign countries as Trump Org seeks new business abroad

[Deeq A.]

 

Photos by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license | Illustration by Miru Osuga/CREW

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have met with high-level officials from eight foreign governments as the Trump Organization expands aggressively worldwide during President Trump’s second term. The meetings highlight the corruption risks of a president who owns a global business while in office: separate from the foreign policy of the Trump administration, the president’s sons are conducting undisclosed meetings with foreign leaders with the end goal of putting money in the president’s pocket.

Don Jr. and Eric Trump have met with foreign leaders from Serbia, Hungary, the UK, Qatar, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Somaliland and Israel during the president’s second term. In 2024, the Trump Organization reportedly earned at least $87 million in business income through Trump-branded international projects alone, demonstrating the immense wealth the family is making from the pursuit of these foreign developments. Twenty-two Trump-branded developments are in the works internationally.

Despite the clear conflicts of interest posed by the president’s sons doing business abroad while their father conducts U.S. foreign policy, Eric Trump has suggested that their past efforts to avoid the appearance of corruption weren’t worth it. In October 2024, he told the New York Times, “The first term we did everything imaginable to avoid any appearance of impropriety, and frankly, we got crushed anyway…We can’t just sit out in perpetuity, and I won’t.”

In March 2025, Donald Trump Jr. met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to discuss “economic and political relations.” The Trump Organization was involved in a controversial development in Belgrade at the time. In April, Don Jr. met with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Budapest, reportedly to expand the Trump Organization’s business in the region.

Around the same time as those trips, in March, Eric Trump traveled to Scotland to meet First Minister John Swinney. A Swinney spokesperson explained that the meeting was about the Trump family’s business interests in the country, which include two golf courses, and “Scotland’s investment potential.” Then in April Eric Trump appeared alongside Qatari Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiya at a signing event for a new Trump development, in a deal involving Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

In May, Eric Trump and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính both took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a Trump development in Vietnam, which the government had agreed to fast-track. During that same visit, Eric Trump also met with city officials about the possibility of a Trump development in Ho Chi Minh City.

In October, Don Jr. traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he spoke at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s annual investment forum, calling investment opportunities in the region “spectacular.” He was seen sitting next to the crown prince later during the conference.

In January, Eric Trump reportedly met with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to hear investment pitches. The meeting was also attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The Trump family’s staggering indifference to blurring the lines between politics and corporate interest once again demonstrates how Trump’s presidency is being used to enrich himself and his family rather than serving the needs of the American people.

Photos of Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license.

Source  Citizensforethics

 

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