Trump’s term 2 corruption by the numbers: More golf trips, more foreign visitors and more profits

During his first term in office, President Donald Trump racked up thousands of conflicts of interest, stemming from his decision not to divest from his real estate empire. Through visits and promotion of his properties and handouts for his customers, Trump sent a message that access to his administration was for sale through his businesses. In the first six months of Trump’s second term, his corruption is worse, marked by a dramatic escalation of his presidential profiteering. Trump not only once again failed to divest from the businesses he owns and profits from, he has launched numerous new businesses to monetize the presidency on a scale orders of magnitude greater than the corruption of his first administration.

Trump’s business empire has grown considerably since the end of his first term, offering more lucrative and secretive ways to buy access and seek influence. Over the past few years, he has expanded his portfolio to include a publicly traded social media company, cryptocurrency ventures, new international developments and, most recently, a wireless service provider. 

The Trump Organization’s core real estate properties remain open for business to those looking to ingratiate themselves with the president. Since day one of this administration, CREW has tracked the conflicts of interest stemming from Trump’s real estate empire. CREW’s tracking falls into three main categories: 

• Visits to Trump properties from foreign dignitaries, state government officials, cabinet members and Trump himself
• Events that special interest groups, foreign governments and political committees hold at Trump properties
• Instances in which Trump, members of his cabinet and government websites mention Trump business interests 

Of course, the conflicts that CREW has identified are almost certainly the tip of the iceberg. For every foreign official making social media posts from a Trump hotel, there may be another secretly investing in his memecoin. Nonetheless, CREW’s tracking of these conflicts show Trump’s disregard for government ethics and accountability, and special interests and foreign governments’ eagerness to participate in his efforts to monetize the presidency.

Visits

Visits from Trump

During Trump’s first term, he defied presidential norms by spending a significant amount of time away from the White House at the properties he owned and profited from. This term, Trump has made 99 visits to his properties, including 62 visits to his golf courses, a 37% increase from last term. Six months into his first term Trump had only made 72 visits to his properties including 42 to golf courses.

Just five days after his inauguration, Trump flew down to his Doral golf club in Florida. In his first month back in office, he traveled to properties in Florida every weekend. 

By frequently visiting the properties that he still owns and profits from as president, Trump has established his hotels, resorts and golf courses as centers of power and influence. When Trump flies down to Mar-a-Lago in Florida or ventures across the Potomac River to his northern Virginia golf club, he does more than golf and vacation. Trump has hosted foreign dignitaries, met with members of Congress and signed executive orders at his properties. He also meets with paying customers who get to bend the ear of the president solely by virtue of being wealthy enough to afford memberships to his clubs. Some of these customers joined after Trump took office the first time, and reporting has repeatedly shown that Trump Organization customers get access not only to Trump himself, but to top-level government officials and agencies.

Visits from foreign government officials

Foreign government officials from ten countries have made 19 visits to Trump properties this term. Shortly after the 2016 election, one foreign diplomat said it best: “Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?’” Foreign officials visit Trump properties to ingratiate themselves with the president, express their public support for him and gain closer access to others in the Trump orbit. 

In the last six months, the presidents of four different countries have been to Trump properties. On one day in March, Trump played a round of golf with President Alexander Stubb of Finland at his golf club in Palm Beach, where Senator Lindsey Graham was also visiting. Later that evening, he hosted Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and his wife at Mar-a-Lago. Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy was also at the dinner. In May, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles attended an event at Trump’s Doral golf club. 

President Javier Milei of Argentina traveled to Mar-a-Lago in April to accept an award at the American Patriot Gala, where he took pictures with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Milei, who has emphatically flaunted his admiration for Trump, exclaimed “Make Argentina Great Again!” from the ballroom stage. 

Foreign officials often visit Trump properties in delegations, lending additional visibility and an official appearance to the trips. President Milei was accompanied to Mar-a-Lago by Argentina’s Minister of the Economy, Foreign Minister and Secretary General of the Presidency. A whopping six members of the Panamanian National Assembly from the conservative Realizando Metas party were also in attendance. One Assemblymember posted on Instagram: “Mar-a-Lago, more than an iconic club, is a historic place where high-impact decisions have been made. Attending this gala not only represents an opportunity to share with influential leaders, but also to strengthen ties in support of causes that seek well-being and prosperity.”

Officials from the following countries have visited Trump properties

Visits from cabinet members

Members of Trump’s administration have followed the president’s lead, traveling to Trump properties and bringing business and attention to the properties along with them. Seven different cabinet members have made 15 visits this term. 

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attended a February dinner for Republican Senators at Mar-a-Lago. Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe have also been to Trump properties.  

While not included in the official tally of cabinet members, Elon Musk made numerous visits to Trump properties while working in the administration. Prior to his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk spent more time at Trump properties than any cabinet member, making ten visits in four months.

Visits from state officials 

State government officials have visited Trump properties 17 times in the last six months, with officials from Florida visiting the most by far. Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier and a state senator showed their support for local law enforcement at the South Florida Police Benevolent Association’s 2025 Law Enforcement Awards Gala at Trump’s Doral golf club outside of Miami. State Senators from Florida and Virginia attended the Republican National Committee’s spring training event at Doral as well. 

Visits from members of Congress

During Trump’s first term in office, CREW also tracked visits to Trump properties from members of Congress. Last term, 143 members of Congress made 361 visits to Trump properties, with the top three visiting 20 or more times. 

This time around, CREW is taking it as a given that the pattern will hold. Indeed, just days after Trump’s inauguration, House Republicans flocked to Trump’s Doral resort for a retreat. According to the Washington Post, the “vast majority” of the 218-member GOP conference attended the event. Soon after that, Trump hosted GOP senators at Mar-a-Lago for a private dinner. According to an aide, 41 Republican senators were in attendance. 

In the past, Republicans have tried to cast their presence at Trump properties as a matter of convenience, pointing out that Trump’s DC hotel was centrally located between the White House and the Capitol. Yet, as CREW has pointed out, as soon as the hotel ceased to bear the Trump name, Republican spending there vanished. In the first few months of 2025, Republicans spent more at Trump properties than they did when Trump owned the DC hotel, shattering any illusion that their spending at his properties was anything more than a total embrace of his presidential profiteering. 

Events

During Trump’s first four years in office, special interest groups, political committees and foreign governments held more than 250 events at Trump properties. These events give hosts and sponsors the chance to ingratiate themselves with the Trump White House by making a payment to the president’s business, and are often attended by key members of the administration. In just six months, these groups have held 49 events at Trump properties, 16 more than this time in Trump’s first term, despite the disappearance of the Trump Hotel in Washington.

Special interests

Trump’s decision to retain his interests in his namesake hospitality empire while holding office added something new to special interests’ influence toolkit: a way to pay the president. So far this term, at least 34 special interest groups have sponsored 23 events at Trump properties, while seeking access and influence with the Trump administration. 

Cryptocurrency company Origin Protocol held a “crypto summit” at Mar-a-Lago in May. The company stated its goal for the event in an X post: “Build relationships with the Trump Administration and his inner circle.” Origin Protocol’s co-founders Matthew Liu and Josh Fraser also attended Trump’s dinner for top holders of his $TRUMP memecoin, meaning they likely poured millions into the president’s pockets. 

The Seasonal Employment Alliance PAC, an organization that represents companies that hire seasonal foreign workers, held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago soon after the Trump administration’s delayed release of limited foreign work visas. Without these visas, employers cannot hire foreign workers. In a press release about the event, SEA PAC called Mar-a-Lago “one of the most prized properties in the country” that is “recognized globally as the crown jewel of Palm Beach,” and noted a “decent chance” of Trump being there. SEA PAC also advertised Trump’s golf properties to fundraiser attendees in conjunction with the event. The Trump administration released new visa spots less than two weeks after the fundraiser took place.

Political committees

So far this term, political committees have hosted 21 events at Trump properties. According to a CREW analysis in May, political groups spent more than $675,000 at Trump properties in the six months period after his November 2024 reelection. 

Trump’s own PAC, MAGA Inc., has held the most events at Trump properties. According to Wired, a March candlelight dinner cost $1 million per plate. The PAC’s “crypto and AI innovators” dinner in May cost guests $1.5 million for a spot. Since the 2024 election, MAGA Inc. has reportedly amassed over $400 million, in part through these high-dollar fundraisers at Trump’s properties. 

Candidates and officeholders have held events at Trump properties to signal their support for the MAGA agenda and appeal for support from Trump. When Arizona gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in March, she posted pictures from Trump’s “beautiful club.” U.S. Rep. and potential Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Dan Meuser, as well as U.S. Rep. and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, have also held fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago. 

Foreign governments

Four foreign governments have hosted or sponsored four events at Trump properties this term. Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf held a major tournament at Trump National Doral in April and sponsored a smaller event in May. Between LIV Golf’s founding in 2021 and Trump’s second inauguration, the group held six events at Trump golf clubs.

In February, Trump’s Dubai golf club hosted a golf tournament for members of the international shipping community to “foster connections” and “strengthen business networks.” The event’s sponsors included shipping companies owned by the sovereign wealth funds of Oman and Abu Dhabi.

Official promotion

Trump frequently uses the presidency to advertise his businesses. In the first six months of this administration, Trump has promoted his properties by mentioning them 57 times, a 78% increase from the first six months of his first term. On 19 of those occasions, he has brought them up and praised them. Trump promoted his properties 378 times in his first term. 

At a press conference announcing an executive order banning transgender athletes from sports, Trump noted that he would have liked to build a ballroom in the White House similar to the “beautiful, beautiful ballroom like I have at Mar-a-Lago.” Trump began his opening remarks at the Saudi-led FII Priority Conference in Miami with a shout out to the “tremendous success” he has had developing in the area, telling attendees about “beautiful buildings” he built on the ocean as well as his “tremendous [Doral] country club… [the] most successful country club in the U.S.” When an Irish politician visited the White House for a bilateral meeting, reporters asked Trump if he planned to impose tariffs on Ireland. Trump related the decision to his business in the country, responding, “I have a property, a big property in Ireland that you know well, it’s one of the most highly rated hotels in all of Europe. It’s beautiful, Doonbeg. It’s beautiful, 600 acres on the ocean and everybody knows it and we have a beautiful hotel.”

Trump has also taken to Truth Social to advertise his products, including: books (“My newest book is HOT, and I hope you’ll find time to read it. Have you gotten your copy of SAVE AMERICA yet?”), television shows (“Back by popular demand, for the first time in 20 years, the Emmy nominated ORIGINAL APPRENTICE STARRING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is back!! Watch Season 1 of The Apprentice, now streaming on Prime Video”), and cryptocurrencies (“I LOVE $TRUMP — SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”).

Other White House officials have followed Trump’s lead, mentioning or praising his properties ten times. When the White House received questions about the “Trump 2028” hats for sale on the Trump Organization’s website, press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “it’s a cool hat and I suspect it will be highly popular!” Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has posted about Trump properties, including the “LUXURIOUS Mar-a-Lago” and the “beautiful Trump National Doral Miami” on his X account eight times.

Other business conflicts of interest 

A multitude of other interactions between Trump’s business interests and the presidency don’t fit neatly into the categories listed above but will have policy implications at home and abroad nonetheless.

Trump and his family have embraced cryptocurrency and memecoins as an opaque source of millions of dollars in income. Already, Trump’s SEC has loosened regulations on “memecoins,” or crypto assets that function as a vehicle of support for a particular celebrity or internet meme, ruling that they are not subject to regulatory oversight as securities. Just days after this ruling Trump held a cryptocurrency summit at the White House, giving face time to industry leaders, including the co-founder of the Trumps’ own company, World Liberty Financial. In May, Trump hosted a dinner at his northern Virginia golf club for the top holders of his $TRUMP memecoin, with a more exclusive, private gathering for the top 25 investors. Altogether, investors who attended the dinner spent an estimated $148 million for access to the president, significantly more than he could have brought in through his traditional hospitality business.

Before his first term Trump promised not to pursue any new foreign deals. This time around the Trump Organization is rapidly expanding around the world. Trump has been developing 21 properties in ten countries during his second administration. These give foreign leaders the opportunity to provide special treatment to Trump through approvals and handouts for his developments. Foreign policy that the Trump Administration makes in these countries may revolve around its effect on his business interests. Most recently, The Trump Organization also announced plans to build a “tower block” in Bucharest, Romania’s capital. 

Trump was deep in debt and struggling to keep his failing businesses above water when he was elected in 2016, and at the time of his reelection last year, was once again facing significant debts thanks in part to civil court judgments against him. In his first term he made more than $1.6 billion, according to his personal financial disclosurestax returns. In his second term, Trump is once again monetizing the presidency by committing greater abuses of his office and profiting in more corrupt ways. Trump isn’t just profiting while serving as president, he is leveraging the power of the office to benefit himself at every turn.