Trump Says He ‘can’t Even Imagine’ Staff Gave Stock Tips On Trade Deals

President Trump said Friday he can’t imagine an administration official sharing nonpublic information about his tariff plans with Wall Street as the White House and some GOP lawmakers face accusations of potential insider trading.

Asked on Air Force One if any members of his financial team have been giving tips to Wall Street on trade deals, Trump sought to shoot down insider trading concerns as his team negotiates deals and handles a sweeping tariff agenda.

“I can commit to myself, that’s all I can commit,” Trump said while flying to Rome. “You know, I have thousands of people that work for me, but I can’t imagine anybody doing that. I have very honorable people, that I can say. So I can’t even imagine it. I haven’t even heard that, actually.”

Administration officials reportedly gave Wall Street executives an early alert about progress on a deal with India around tariffs, according to Fox Business, sparking concerns over providing non-public updates to traders while the stock market has experienced turmoil.

Democrats earlier this month also demanded information about potential conflicts of interest of White House and executive branch officials who may have made financial transactions with insider knowledge of Trump's 90-day pause on steep tariffs.

Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) demanded the Office of Government Ethics investigate, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said House Democrats will launch investigations into any potential wrongdoing and whether House GOP lawmakers were given advance notice of the freeze.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a staunch Trump ally, purchased tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock the day before the president announced he was pausing sweeping tariffs for 90 days, which caused the market to surge.

Trump told Time magazine in an interview that published Friday he would “absolutely” sign legislation to ban congressional stock trading if it reached his desk.