President Donald Trump held a high-level strategy session in the Oval Office to discuss how to fast-track the controversial merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, according to a report by The New York Times on Monday. The meeting, which reportedly included PGA Tour executive Jay Monahan and LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, raises ethical concerns given the Trump family’s financial ties to the Saudi-backed golf league.
By facilitating the discussion, Trump “was pushing a merger that relates to his own family’s financial interest,” the report stated. “The Trump family is a LIV Golf business partner. The family has repeatedly hosted LIV tournaments at its golf venues, including one planned in April at the Trump National Doral in Miami for the fourth year in a row.”
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Former federal prosecutor and Justice Department fraud adviser Hui Chen expressed concern over the implications of Trump’s involvement. “None of this is very surprising, unfortunately,” Chen told the Times. “The entire force and power of the United States government is now part of the business support structure for the Trump family.”
The merger has been controversial even before Trump returned to the White House, primarily due to LIV Golf’s ties to Saudi Arabia. Trump’s relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has long been scrutinized, particularly after he declined to impose consequences following the assassination of Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi—an act widely attributed to the crown prince.
The report also highlights broader ethical concerns surrounding Trump’s administration, pointing to potential conflicts of interest in multiple industries. For example, “Not long before Mr. Trump took office, his family started to sell its own cryptocurrency token — earning along with its partners an estimated $100 million in transaction fees — just as Mr. Trump was preparing to sign an executive order directing his administration to draft new cryptocurrency regulations easing oversight of the industry.”
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Additionally, the report raises questions about the influence of tech billionaire Elon Musk, a key Trump ally who has been appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency task force. Musk, a major financial backer of Trump’s campaign, has been accused of systematically weakening federal regulatory agencies, particularly the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at a time when his X social media platform is introducing financial transaction features.
The revelations add to the growing list of ethical concerns surrounding Trump’s administration, as critics argue that the presidency is once again being leveraged for personal and business gain.
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