The U.S. Vice-President-elect Mike Pence on Sunday defended President-elect Donald Trump whose meeting with Indian business partners last week has snowballed into a controversy.
“I promise you, and I can assure the public that..,.” Mr. Pence said of separating the Trump administration’s decisions from the interests of his business enterprise.
Mr. Trump met with his Indian partners in New York last week, which many critics said validated their concerns that his global businesses will pose continuing conflicts of interest.
Atul Chordia, Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta, who are promoting the Trump Towers in Pune, met the President-elect and posted photos on social media. A New York Times report from Pune on Sunday said the business partners hoped “to exploit their ties to Donald Trump”.
Brand powerMr. Trump has allowed the use of his brand in the project, managed by Panchshil Realty, for an undisclosed amount in royalty. This is the business model the President-elect follows in countries where he has real estate projects.
Asked by Fox News whether Mr. Trump’s meeting with Indian partners created a “tremendous danger of a conflict of interest”, Mr. Pence said: “In a recent interview after the election, the President-elect summed up his view of his interest in his business life with two words. He said, ‘Who cares?’ And I can tell you, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with him through these interviews, watching him talk to world leaders on the phone, one after another, from hours after the election, the President-elect of the U.S., Donald Trump, is completely focussed on the people’s business.”
“They’re extraordinary men and women, fully capable of leading that enterprise,” Mr. Pence said of Mr. Trump’s children, who will run the business. “I know he’s going to lead America with 110 per cent of his focus,” Mr. Pence said of Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump’s Indian partners initially said they discussed a new project, but later clarified that the meeting lasted only two minutes and they only congratulated him.
There are strict laws in the U.S. that bars government officials from acting on matters that involve their personal financial interests, but they do not apply to the President. However, past Presidents have appointed ‘blind trusts’ to manage their personal assets.
In Mr. Trump’s case, he had said his children would run the business, but any insulation between the administration and the business could not be possible as his three children are part of the transition team. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also a member of the transition team.
How other countries may use Mr. Trump’s business interests in bilateral relations remains a highly controversial issue as the transition inches ahead. Even before Mr. Trump won the presidency, the Philippines had named a partner of Mr. Trump as an envoy to the U.S. for trade, investment and economic affairs.
Jose E. B. Antonio is chairman of Century Properties Group, which is doing a $150-million project in Manila under the Trump brand. The company’s stock price rose by 20 per cent after Mr. Trump’s victory. The Philippines has been a strong U.S. ally in Asia but the recently-elected President Rodrigo Duterte has taken a confrontational posture towards the U.S. even as he moves closer to China.
