Donald Trump admitted he did receive money from foreign governments such as China while he was president, as his business was providing a "service" for them.
Speaking at a Fox News town hall on Wednesday night, the former president defended himself from accusations made in a recent report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee which accused him of accepting payments from foreign governments from countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar while in office.
The report accused Trump of violating the U.S. Constitution's foreign emoluments clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments without permission from Congress, after overseas officials stayed in his real estate company's hotels and apartments during his time in the White House.
The January 4 report alleged that four businesses owned by Trump received around $7.8 million from 20 countries during his time in office, including at least $5.5 million from China, during his first two years as president. The report was released amid House Republicans' attempts to impeach President Joe Biden over allegations he benefited from his son Hunter Biden's foreign dealings while in office, despite no evidence to back up the claims.
Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a break in a live town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. Trump defended receiving money from China while president as his businesses were "doing services" for foreign countries. KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP/Getty Images
Speaking at the town hall, Trump said he plans on retaining his stake in his real estate empire, The Trump Organization, currently largely operated by his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, if he wins the 2024 election while defending the money he previously received from foreign officials.
"If I have a hotel and somebody comes in from China, that's a small amount of money," Trump said. "But I was doing services for them, people were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels—because I have the best hotels and the best clubs, I have great stuff—and they stay there and they pay."
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"I don't get $8 million for doing nothing," Trump added.
The Trump Organization has been contacted for comment via email.
The report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, entitled White House for Sale: How Princes, Prime Ministers, and Premiers Paid Off President Trump, said that foreign countries paid the Republican "lavishly" during his time in office all while he made "foreign policy decisions connected to their policy agendas with far-reaching ramifications" for the United States.
"By elevating his personal financial interests and the policy priorities of corrupt foreign powers over the American public interest, former President Trump violated both the clear commands of the Constitution and the careful precedent set and observed by every previous Commander-in-Chief," wrote Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight committee.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of The Trump Organization, dismissed the report's finding as a "joke" and said that all the company's profits from its business with foreign governments were voluntarily donated to the United States Treasury.