Trump Jr. dismisses conflicts of interest, touts projects in Indonesia

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Trump, on Tuesday dismissed concerns about conflicts of interest regarding two Trump-branded projects in Indonesia.

The executive vice president of the Trump Organization was in Jakarta for a pre-launch event as the president’s family enterprise partners with Indonesia’s MNC Group, Reuters reported.

Trump Jr. brushed off concerns that the two Trump Indonesian projects — on the island of Bali and in the city of Lido — could cause potential conflicts of interest.{mosads}

He said the deal with MNC Group, led by billionaire Hary Tanoesoedibjo, was the last business deal the Trump Organization signed before his father became president in 2017. The business has not taken up any new overseas deals to “avoid even the impression of any kind of impropriety,” he added, according to Reuters.

The two resorts will include hotels, villas and golf courses, according to the news service. They will be developed within three years and Tanoesoedibjo said the MNC group is investing $1.7 billion, it added.

Trump Jr. described the planned resorts as “dream projects.” 

Tensions between Indonesia and the U.S. have been rising over concerns that Trump could hit the country with tariffs. Reuters noted that Indonesia had an estimated $8.3 billion trade surplus in 2018.

Trump Jr. said it was “totally asinine” to suggest that his father might be influenced to change U.S. policy in favor of the development deal.

“I’d like to shut that nonsense down once and for all right here,” Trump Jr. said.

The Trump Organization’s deals with foreign investors have raised questions about possible violations of the Emoluments Clause, a section of the Constitution that prohibits gifts to government officials.

Trump declined to divest from his businesses upon entering the Oval Office, instead placing them into a trust operated by his two adult sons, Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. His daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both hold senior positions in the White House.

Tanoesoedibjo, a media mogul, ran for Indonesia’s vice president in the 2014 elections and later founded his own political party, Reuters noted.

President Trump sold his longtime five-bedroom Beverly Hills, Calif., estate to Tanoesoedibjo in June for $13.5 million in a closed off-market deal, according to Variety.