The president-elect shouldn’t have to clean his hands of all his business interests, a majority of Americans say in a new poll.
More than two-thirds of Americans, 69%, say Donald Trump shouldn’t have to “sell all his businesses so that neither he nor his family could potentially profit from actions he takes as president,” a Bloomberg National Poll of 999 adults revealed this week.
Since his election on Nov. 8, critics have warned that Trump’s businesses will be a conflict of interest when he assumes office. While the businessman said he plans to hand the reins of his company to his children in a bid to quell these concerns,Trump would still profit when his company does well. Ethics experts have therefore called for the president-elect to sell his stake in his businesses.
Still, most Americans say Trump selling his businesses “goes too far.” Conversely, just 26% say the president-elect should sell his businesses. Trump, on his part, is not legally obligated to sell his company when he becomes president.
On Tuesday, a Trump spokesperson revealed that the president-elect had sold all his stocks, including stakes in Energy Transfer Partners, Google, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Apple.
The Bloomberg poll was conducted between Dec. 2 and Dec. 5 by Seltzer & Co. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.