Opinion The Trump family cashes in

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It's the toughest job in the world: president of the United States, forced to juggle so many weighty issues at once: foreign policy, terrorism, the economy, jobs, health care, climate change, immigration, drugs and crime.

So what does Donald Trump find time to focus on? His daughter's clothing line. Yes, at 9:51 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8 -- while the official White House calendar showed he was in the middle of his daily intelligence briefing -- Trump fired off a tweet to his 24.2 million Twitter followers attacking Nordstrom for dropping Ivanka Trump's brand of merchandise: "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!"

Eric Trump’s trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills

Secret Service and embassy staffers provided security for the “VIP visit” to a coastal resort town.It was a high-profile jaunt out of the country for Eric, the fresh-faced executive of the Trump Organization who, like his father, pledged to keep the company separate from the presidency. Eric mingled with real estate brokers, dined at an open-air beachfront eatery and spoke to hundreds at an “ultra exclusive” Trump Tower Punta del Este evening party celebrating his visit.

Got 7 million in cash when Fred Trump 's empire was sold off in 2004. New York State says its tax authority is now investigating. The White House called it a 'misleading attack' and said the IRS 'signed off' – but did not seek to rebut the allegations. 'Fred Trump has been gone for nearly twenty years and it's sad to witness this misleading attack against the Trump family by the failing New York Times. Many decades ago the IRS reviewed and signed off on these transactions,' she said. 'The New York Times' and other media outlets' credibility with the American people is at an all time low because they

The family of Donald Trump , the owner of The Trump Organization and 45th president of the United States, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics.

Still not satisfied, Trump ordered that the same tweet be dispatched from the official White House Twitter account to another 15.1 million followers and then sent out Press Secretary Sean Spicer to accuse Nordstrom of playing politics. Trump, he insisted, was doing nothing more than responding to "an attack on his daughter."

Nonsense. Nordstrom officials explained that their move was strictly a business decision. Ivanka's stuff wasn't selling, so they decided to pull the plug. "Over the past year ... sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn't make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now," Nordstrom said in a statement.

But the White House wasn't finished hawking Ivanka goodies. The very next morning, top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway -- speaking from the White House Briefing Room -- told Fox and Friends:

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Trump and family may face consequences, and his reelection campaign spent less money swaying voters than it could have, and the money came from suckers who wanted to reelect a grifting, racist traitor. President Donald Trump 's most powerful advisor, Jared Kushner, approved the creation of a campaign shell company that secretly paid the president's family members and spent almost half of the campaign's .26 billion war chest, a person familiar with the operation told Insider.

EXCLUSIVE: Don Jr. has denied that the Trump family pocketed cash meant for his father's inauguration and would never even recognize woman who raised concerns about inflated prices - Melania's friend and event planner Stephanie Wolkoff. Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Donald Trump Jr. has denied using nonprofit funds meant for his father's inauguration in 2017 to enrich the Trump family , in a deposition obtained by DailyMail.com. Washington D.C. AG Karl Racine filed a lawsuit against the Trump Inaugural Committee and the Trump Organization in January 2020 for

"It's a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully -- I'm going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online."

Conway's remark is in clear violation of the Office of Government Ethics ban on White House staff endorsing products or companies, or in any way using their public office for private gain. But don't expect anybody in the Trump White House to hold her accountable. They're all too busy cashing in themselves, and have been from the very beginning.

Financial records show that one of the principal beneficiaries of the Trump campaign was Trump's business empire, which, among other expenses, billed his campaign $5.6 million for use of his plane; $1.3 million for office rent; $432,000 for events at Mar-A-Lago; $544,000 for food and meeting rooms. For Trump, running for office was a money-making scam.

Which continues, now that he's in the White House. As Trump points out, conflict-of-interest rules that apply to every other federal employee do not apply to the president of the United States. Why? Because the framers never thought anybody would be crass enough to exploit the office for private profit. They didn't count on Donald Trump.

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Appearances from Trump family members. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what was happening inside the Trump hotel on the days surrounding the storming of the Capitol. On Jan. 7, the director of the Trump hotel bragged that the property’s in-room dining hit record rates. Who all was in attendance? Guests included insiders working to overturn the election from the “war room” down the block at the Willard hotel—as well as the president’s two eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric.

Offit had known Trump for decades. At ­Deutsche Bank, he had lined up huge loans to finance Trump ’s construction and renovation of landmark Manhattan skyscrapers, at a time when the default-­prone real estate developer and casino magnate was no longer able to get loans from most mainstream Democrats were pillorying Trump ’s shaky — not to mention murky — personal finances, including his companies’ chronic bankruptcies. Offit thought he might dispense a little advice to his erstwhile client. On a Friday evening, he emailed Trump a lengthy message, explaining that the defense Trump was

Unlike most other presidents, Republican and Democrat, Trump refused to divest himself of his business holdings. Instead, he transferred management of more than 300 companies to his sons, but not ownership -- a plan that Walter Shaub, head of the Office of Government Ethics, denounced as "meaningless," and "not meeting the standard that ... every president of the past four decades has met."

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Under his sweetheart plan, President Trump continues to profit from every business transaction involving every Trump product -- from hotels and office buildings to steaks, bottled water, magazines, ties, wine, clothing, bedding, lamps, and fragrance -- worldwide. Meanwhile, his son Eric, with Secret Service protection paid for by American taxpayers, flies around the world making new business deals. How sweet it is.

But Trump and his sons and daughter aren't the only family members who see the White House as a money-making opportunity. So, apparently, does first lady Melania Trump. In a lawsuit filed against the Daily Mail for falsely alleging she'd once worked as an escort, Trump seeks $150 million, not just for any damage to her reputation, but for the loss of a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," while first lady of the United States, to profit from her brand.

Melania Trump is just being honest

Give first lady Melania Trump credit for honesty. Rarely has anyone been so forthright about using the White House to cash in. On Monday, Melania Trump filed a lawsuit in New York accusing Britain's Daily Mail of defamation: The outlet published an article last August — now retracted — suggesting without evidence that she once worked as an "escort." That hurt her reputation and commercial brand, the lawsuit alleges, and Melania Trump is seeking $150 million in damages. It's also the second time she has sued the Daily Mail over this. The first case was in Maryland and was thrown out for lack of jurisdiction.

Among products the first lady hopes to offer, according to papers filed by attorney Charles Harder, are: apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care, and fragrance.

In 2000, 15 years before he actually became a candidate, Donald Trump bragged to Fortune magazine: "It's very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it." That's one goal he's already accomplished -- for his entire family. They will leave Washington even wealthier than they are today. And the rest of us will be that much poorer.

(Bill Press is host of a nationally-syndicated radio show, CNN political analyst and the author of a new book, "Buyer's Remorse," which is available in bookstores now. You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his website: billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter at @bpshow.)