President Donald Trump speaks with CNBC’s Joe Kernen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 2, 2026.
CNBC
1. Trump feels bad for his kids because of investment appraisals
The president defended his family’s business and said he was upset that the office of the president creates a conflict of interest in any investment of his children.
“Whatever they do, because the president’s office has the power … if they buy a cake company, the power to make cakes, you know, that kind of thing, what’s my power policy?” Trump said during the interview.
The president added, “Almost anything they do, if they want to buy a truck … if they buy an energy-efficient truck, they have the inside scoop.”
The investments of the president’s children have been closely watched, especially since their portfolios are in line with the strategic goals of the elder Trump administration. The Trump administration has approved deals or contracts with many of the companies that Trump juniors have invested in, from drone manufacturers to mining companies.
That investment has raised eyebrows in Congress, with some Democrats intent on scrutinizing the Trumps’ deals for potential insider trading or conflicts of interest.
2. Trump says his son Eric manages his money
Donald Trump Jr., left, and Eric Trump speak on “Squawk on the Street” on Feb. 18, 2026.
CNBC
In the wake of a major financial disclosure that shows the president making more than $2 billion by 2025, Trump said his son, Eric Trump, manages his finances and major financial institutions.
“It’s given to big firms … my son Eric runs it,” Trump said. “I don’t talk to him about things like this. I think I would be allowed, I don’t even know what the situation is, but that’s not the case.”
Trump said Eric Trump “contributes to these things like blind trusts or blind trusts where people invest.” The White House has said that Trump’s finances are managed by his children, and the president described one of his five children.
Trump’s financial disclosures have sparked intense scrutiny about profiteering in the presidency. The White House has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Trump’s disclosures also listed approximately $515 million in token sales from Trump-aligned World Liberty Financial and $65 million in equity sales in WLF’s holding company. Trump in the interview said that it is “illegal” and “there is nothing wrong” with the crypto venture.
3. The president still wants to fire Lisa Cook
Trump doubled down on his desire to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, even after the Supreme Court blocked him from doing so for now.
The high court ruled earlier this week that Trump cannot fire Cook yet because his legal challenge against his firing is still ongoing. But the justices, in a 5-4 decision, left the door open for Cook to be fired on merit.
Trump was undeterred by the decision, saying in an interview that he would remove Cook “by winning the case.”
“They took it back, not on merit” but “on process and process,” Trump said.
Trump is trying to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, called by Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who is now acting director of national intelligence.
4. Trump is a milquetoast on the housing bill; still want the SAVE Act
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) returns to his office after speaking to reporters at the US Capitol on June 11, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch Getty Images
The president gave a tentative answer to whether he will sign the joint housing bill that cleared Congress last month, a week after he wrapped up a successful signing ceremony on Capitol Hill hours before it was due to begin on the SAVE America Act voter ID bill.
“There’s a lot of Democrat points that I don’t think are good, but that’s fine,” Trump said when asked if he would sign the housing bill. “But I have committed a crime and I better not sign anything until we sign the SAVE America Act.”
Trump has been calling for the SAVE Act for months. The bill would require voters to show up at polling places to get proof of citizenship to register to vote and would make it more difficult to vote, especially in low-income and minority communities. The president also wants some sticky wish-list ideas attached to the bill, such as a ban on voting by mail, which has only limited support in Congress.
But the impasse for the president’s signature has now delayed the bipartisan housing bill, which both parties had hoped to use as a model for solving the unaffordability crisis.
The SAVE Act push has also shut down the House floor, as some Republican members of Congress threatened to continue voting on other parts of the legislation until the SAVE Act is passed.
The Senate does not have the votes to pass the measure, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., and his caucus appear to have no desire to end the 60-vote filibuster.
“What I would really like is for them to kill the filibuster, end the filibuster,” Trump said.
The housing bill will become law with or without Trump’s signature, unless he vetoes it. He didn’t say he was going to close it and he didn’t say it in the interview.
5. ‘Ours’ is justice
Trump complained during the interview that the three Supreme Court justices voted as a group, while conservatives often split.
“Very, very rarely do they vote as a bloc,” Trump said of liberals. “There are people from our country, and we have six of them, but they are moving slowly.”
“Republicans want to show everybody how they can’t be controlled, how respectable they are,” Trump said.
Supreme Court justices are technically impartial, although they are often appointed based on their ideological leanings. However, being elected for life insulates them from politics, and they often attack the party of the president who appointed them.
