Throughout April, multiple reports have raised the suspicion of Trump and his family committing insider trading. Insider trading is the buying or selling of a publicly traded company's securities (e.g. stocks, bonds) with information that is not available to the public. This practice is illegal because it generates an unfair advantage for the inside trader. On March 9, 18:29 GMT, market bets for oil prices surged. Less than an hour later, at 19:16 GMT, CBS News’ interview with Trump concerning the U.S.-Iran war was released to the public, causing a 14% decline in oil prices within minutes. Anyone who betted on oil prices profited millions off this market plummet. Similar instances have occurred multiple times in the past two years. While nothing definitively identifies the culprit of insider trading yet, the Trump family is undoubtedly suspicious, especially combined with their other economic activities.
For example, Trump’s two oldest sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., are backing a drone company that is selling products to gulf countries facing Iranian attacks. Their defensive drone interceptors are advertised to help ward off drone attacks from Iran. Numerous news outlets and reporters have voiced their concern over Trump’s sons potentially profiting off of a war their father started. “These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want,” said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer. “This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war—a war he didn't get the consent of Congress for.”
With the US-Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz that supports thousands of companies and provides fuel and key resources to countless countries is closed. People are getting hurt and are dying. Yet certain individuals view this not as troubling news but rather as opportunities to milk money from. These reports on corruption make people worried—about the future, about people profiting off of wars that are killing thousands, and about what our country’s leader is doing for its people in times of crisis. While the scale of global issues seems overwhelming, we can still make changes in this world. From helping people in need from the local community to courageously challenging the actions of world figures, our collective efforts will make an impact. I urge us all to be bold and stand up for what really matters in this world. The voices of the people are what matters, and it needs to be heard.