U.S. policy in India

Editorial: Trump Jr. mixes family business and U.S. policy in India

SF Chronicle Editorial Board

If you want to buy access to President Trump, here’s one way: Purchase a condo in one of the Trump empire’s four projects in India and make sure his family knows it.

The ethics-averse Trump tribe is once again mixing business with politics on son Donald Jr.’s sales trip to India. He’s meeting with potential buyers of upscale apartments and topping it off with a foreign policy speech at an event attended by the country’s prime minister. A sample ad in national papers: “Trump is here. Are you invited?”

Celebrity and glamour are familiar sales tactics, but this instance leaps far beyond that. The name-licensing deals are worth millions of dollars, coloring how the president may think about India. The heavy White House connection isn’t hard to see, ranging from Donald Jr.’s Secret Service detail to the New Delhi policy speech.

Defenders note the business arrangements, which sell the Trump name for a fee, were made before the president took office and Trump himself has stepped away from managing his holdings. That response does nothing to remove the president from knowledge of his holdings.

It’s not hard to see trouble coming from a million directions. Both buyers and Indian officials might expect special treatment from Trump. Likewise the president’s family could expect favors as the White House crafts foreign policy. It’s a troubling mix that a tawdry president is unwilling to acknowledge or fix.