Conservative allies raise concerns as Trump family business dealings draw scrutiny
Some of President Donald Trump’s most reliable supporters are beginning to voice discomfort over reports detailing the growing business fortunes of members of the Trump family during his second term.
The latest criticism came from SiriusXM host and commentator Megyn Kelly, who described herself as a supporter of both the president and his sons while openly questioning reports involving lucrative business ventures connected to the Trump family.
Speaking with Sky News Australia, Kelly said she was troubled by a series of reports involving Trump family investments and business arrangements that have surfaced in recent months.
“I don’t feel great about our leaders, I’m not gonna lie,” Kelly said. “It’s so grifty, I’m not gonna lie, it’s grifty. You know, the Trump family is grifty.”
Kelly added that her criticism was not personal.
“I love his sons, okay? So I say this as a true fan of theirs, but I didn’t like it when Hunter Biden was doing it and I don’t like it when the Trumps are doing it.”
The comments come after newly released financial disclosure documents showed substantial revenue tied to Trump family business ventures, including cryptocurrency projects associated with President Trump and members of his family. Reports have also focused on international investment opportunities involving companies connected to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
The White House has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing and has rejected suggestions that official government actions were influenced by private business interests. Trump family representatives have similarly pushed back against media reports suggesting improper conduct.
The criticism wasn’t limited to Kelly.
Fox News host Dana Perino also drew comparisons between questions surrounding Trump family business activities and the controversies that followed Hunter Biden during his father’s presidency.
“If they think this issue is not permeating across the country with people going, ‘Huh wait, what?’ They’re not exactly on the most solid ground here,” Perino said during a Wednesday discussion.
The debate underscores a familiar reality in Washington. Ethics questions that were once used as political weapons against one side often return when power changes hands.
For years, Republicans hammered the Biden family over influence-peddling allegations and foreign business connections. Now some conservative commentators are arguing that the same standards should apply regardless of which family occupies the White House.
Republicans spent years listening to lectures about Hunter Biden’s overseas deals, foreign connections, influence peddling, mysterious art sales, and a laptop that half the media pretended didn’t exist. The argument from the Right was simple, powerful families shouldn’t profit from political access.
That’s a fair standard.
If it’s a fair standard for the Bidens, it’s a fair standard for everybody.
The truth is that voters are exhausted by the revolving door between politics, lobbying, consulting, investing, influence, and insider access. They look at Washington and see people arriving with modest fortunes and leaving with empires.
It’s one of the reasons Trump connected with so many Americans in the first place. He wasn’t supposed to be part of that club.
The danger for Republicans isn’t that Democrats will suddenly discover ethics. Spare me. Most of these people spent four years pretending Hunter Biden was a misunderstood entrepreneur.
The danger is that voters start believing everyone eventually becomes part of the same game. The swamp has survived for decades because every time somebody points at one alligator, another alligator points back.
Americans don’t want dueling alligators. They want somebody to drain the swamp.
