Trump revives debunked George Washington 'two desks' claim amid scrutiny over $1.4B crypto fortune

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump reached back into history and revived a long-disputed claim about George Washington while defending his family's growing personal fortune after returning to the White House. The president faced scrutiny after his annual disclosure, filed on June 29 with the US Office of Government Ethics, revealed that he earned more than $1 billion from his family's cryptocurrency businesses last year.

The 927-page document showed that Trump earned more than $636 million through CIC Digital, a Trump Organization affiliate that manages his namesake cryptocurrency, $TRUMP. Another major contributor was World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-backed cryptocurrency venture, which generated nearly $600 million in earnings.

Trump claims George Washington had a separate desk for business

President Trump made the remarks while discussing his family's business interests after a reporter questioned his wealth during an exchange at the White House.

The president argued that he would not be the first leader to maintain private business interests while in office, citing John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt before saying George Washington was among the wealthiest figures in American history.

Trump then claimed Washington had a second desk for handling personal business matters in his presidential office.

“George Washington had two desks in his pre-White House. And they were right next to each other. One was for business, and one was for the presidency,” Trump insisted.

Trump said he "chooses" not to mix business with the presidency and repeated that he does not discuss business matters, including his sons’ “Trump Coin” cryptocurrency venture, with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

“Crypto has a tremendous audience,” Trump claimed. “I’m very much for crypto-- it’s not a question of a personal thing. I let my kids do whatever the hell they do.”

“I don’t talk to them — ever — talk to them about it,” Trump insisted, though he added: “I’m allowed to! I think. I’m allowed to. But I don’t bother.”

Did George Washington really have two desks?

Trump first made the claim about Washington having two desks in 2019 while dismissing what he called the “phony emoluments clause” of the Constitution, which limits a president from illegally profiting from business interests while in office.

At the time, Trump said Washington continued to run a business while serving as president and used two desks, one for business and one for presidential duties, to argue against what he described as unfair restrictions.

The claim was later disputed by the lead historian of a historical foundation that owns and maintains Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. 

“I am not aware of Washington having had two desks in the study in the presidential mansion, which was a fairly small room,” the historian said.

As the nation’s first president, Washington took office in 1789, when modern standards separating presidential responsibilities from private financial interests had not yet been established.

Although Washington remained a plantation owner during his presidency, with his Virginia estate relying on enslaved labor, he stepped away from aspects of its daily operations after taking office.