A massive Trump scandal. Minuscule media attention.

For decades, any suggestion of financial entanglements between a U.S. president or presidential candidate and foreign nationals has been considered a scandal. A financial relationship with foreign nationals, however attenuated, undercuts the principle that a president should be exclusively focused on the best interests of the American people. Historically, major media outlets have provided extensive coverage of the issue.

In the 1990s, "Chinagate" involved funneling several hundred thousand dollars from Chinese sources to former President Bill Clinton's reelection campaign and the Democratic Party. The controversy prompted an avalanche of coverage, even though there was no proof that Clinton or former Vice President Al Gore were even aware of the illicit influence campaign. The 2016 presidential campaign featured voluminous media coverage about donations to the Clinton Foundation by foreign nationals and the potential conflict those donations created for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The donations were covered as a scandal, even though the money was used for charitable purposes. More recently, there has been extensive coverage of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, despite the fact that Hunter Biden was not a government official and former President Joe Biden did not personally benefit.

All of these stories had legitimate legal and ethical implications that merited news coverage. But today, President Trump is engaged in far more direct financial relationships with foreign nationals. Major media outlets are showing little to no interest.

On Friday, for example, the Trump Organization — an organization owned by Trump — announced that it would be building Trump Tower Bucharest. The project "will be developed in the heart of Romania’s capital, one of Europe’s most vibrant and dynamic emerging markets, bringing premium residences under the Trump brand to the region." The Trump Organization will be partnering with "SDC Imobiliare, one of Romania’s leading luxury real estate developers."

So, a company owned by Trump is now engaged in an extensive economic relationship with a Romanian developer. The details of the arrangement are undisclosed but generally involve the development partner, in this case SDC Imobiliare, paying millions in licensing fees to the Trump Organization. (Shortly before taking office, Trump transferred the Trump Organization to a revocable trust, but the move has no practical impact. His son Donald Trump Jr. is the sole trustee.)

Constructing real estate in a foreign country creates even more conflicts than a typical economic relationship. In order to complete the project, SDC Imobiliare and the Trump Organization will need to receive zoning, construction, and environmental permits from Romanian government officials.

This could give the Romanian government leverage to extract concessions, explicitly or implicitly, from the Trump administration. For example, the country is currently seeking to restore its status in the Visa Waiver Program, which the Trump administration revoked in May. Romania is also eager for the U.S. to maintain its military presence at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, where 1,700 U.S. troops are currently stationed.

The Trump Organization's partner on the project, SDC Imobiliare, is currently enmeshed in a complex corruption investigation. As it sought to develop another project in Romania, known as Transylvania Smart City, SDC Imobiliare allegedly secretly enlisted Elena Udrea, a controversial politician. Udrea was sentenced to eight years in prison for bribery and money laundering, according to Romanian media outlets. Ștefan Berciu, the co-owner of SDC Imobiliare, initially denied Urdrea's involvement, but later admitted she was working on the project. Transylvania Smart City is reportedly under investigation by Romania's anti-corruption bureau, known as DNA. Although it has not been officially announced, Romanian media reports that the Trump Organization will partner with SDC Imobiliare on a second property as part of the Transylvania Smart City project.

And yet, most major media outlets have completely ignored the announcement of the Trump Tower Bucharest deal. It was covered in a 330-word article in Bloomberg and a 270-word article in Reuters. (CNBC replublished the Reuters article.) There has been no coverage in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Axios, CNN, USA Today, or the Associated Press.

In contrast, during the 2016 election, the New York Times alone published 79 pieces that were about or referenced foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation — nearly one story a week for 22 months.

The Trump Organization's global expansion

In his first term, even Trump recognized that the Trump Organization striking new deals abroad while he was in the White House created an intractable conflict. In January 2017, the Trump Organization released an ethics statement that prohibited "without exception—new foreign deals during the duration of President-Elect Trump’s Presidency," including "any new deals with respect to the use of the 'Trump' brand or any trademark, trade name, or marketing intangibles associated with The Trump Organization or Donald J. Trump in any foreign jurisdictions." In January 2025, the Trump Organization released a new ethics statement that does not include any restrictions on "foreign deals."

The Trump Organization has taken full advantage of the change. In addition to Trump Tower Bucharest, the company announced that it would partner with luxury developer Dar Global to build two new real estate projects in Saudi Arabia. Just before Trump’s inauguration, the Trump Organization announced a deal with Affinity Partners to build a Trump Tower Belgrade on a former military site owned by the Serbian government. Affinity Partners is a private equity firm launched in 2021 by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and funded by $2 billion from the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund and other foreign governments. In May, the Trump Organization struck another deal with Dar Global and Qatari Diar, a company owned by the Qatari government, to build a $5.5 billion Trump International Golf Club in Qatar.