President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence wave as
they visit the Carrier factory on Dec. 1, 2016, in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
President-elect Donald Trump sold
bonds issued by Carrier Corporation’s parent company, United
Technologies, in January, according to Trump’s presidential transition
team. Hope Hicks, the spokeswoman for the
transition team who informed The Huffington Post that Trump made the
sale, did not address a request to provide documentation of it.
Barring additional information, it is impossible to verify the Trump
transition team’s claim until the president-elect’s next financial
disclosure in May 2017, which will show asset sales made in 2016.
Trump earned $2,501 to $5,000 in interest income from bonds issued by
Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies Inc., according to
Trump’s May financial disclosure. That disclosure only shows income and asset sales for the previous calendar year. The Indy Star first reported Trump’s stake in the company.
Had Trump not made the sale, he would have had a modest financial stake in the health of Carrier, the company with which he just negotiated a deal to keep 800 manufacturing jobs in the United States. Although Trump treated Carrier as a whipping post during the campaign, now that he has finalized a deal he has spoken about the company favorably, generating it positive national media attention.
A Carrier spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. Trump is already drawing pressure
from ethics experts and congressional Democrats who are calling on him
to divest from his myriad global businesses, including the Trump
International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which foreign governments
are already patronizing as a way to curry favor with the incoming
administration. They argue that these holdings could inappropriately
influence his presidential decision-making.
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