The confrontation unfolded during an Oval Office interview with veteran business journalist Joe Kernen, who questioned Trump about newly disclosed earnings from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency platform co-founded by Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The discussion came days after the Office of Government Ethics released the president's 2025 financial disclosure, detailing hundreds of millions of dollars in income tied to digital assets.
The disclosure has renewed scrutiny of the Trump family's expanding cryptocurrency portfolio as the administration simultaneously pursues policies designed to encourage the growth of the digital asset industry.
Kernen framed his questions around the unique ethical standards applied to presidents, noting that while the president is exempt from many federal conflict-of-interest statutes that govern executive branch employees, public expectations regarding financial transparency remain high.
The CNBC anchor asked whether Trump had been aware that his family's business was preparing to expand so aggressively into cryptocurrency before the venture generated substantial returns.
Rather than directly addressing the question, Trump shifted the discussion toward America's strategic competition with China and the importance of digital technologies.
"Well, I was here before, I was there before I was in office, but the way I view crypto's a little differently, we have to be at the top, otherwise China's going to take it over," Trump said before broadening the conversation to artificial intelligence and international competition.
The president argued that the United States currently leads China in artificial intelligence development and recounted a recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying Xi praised his leadership. Kernen repeatedly redirected the interview toward the family's cryptocurrency business and the financial disclosure.
When pressed again on whether he had prior knowledge of the crypto venture, Trump gave a direct response.
"No," he replied.
He immediately added that knowledge of the project would not have constituted wrongdoing, saying, "By the way, I could know about it," before continuing, "I didn't, I mean, there's nothing illegal, there's nothing wrong with it. I could know."
The president's comments quickly circulated across social media, where critics questioned the credibility of his denial. One political commentator referred to Trump as "liar-in-chief" after posting a clip of the exchange online.
However, no publicly available evidence has independently confirmed or disproved Trump's statement regarding his knowledge of the venture before its launch. Likewise, no official investigation has concluded that the president improperly participated in planning or managing World Liberty Financial while serving in office.
The financial disclosure lists more than $500 million in income from World Liberty Financial, making it one of the largest single revenue sources reported by Trump during 2025. The filing, however, does not specify how ownership interests are divided among family members or precisely when investments were made.
Trump also defended his children during the interview, arguing that their business activities receive greater scrutiny because of his position.
"Almost anything they do... they have inside information," Trump said, suggesting critics routinely assume his sons benefit from confidential government information. He added that he has encouraged them to "stay away" from activities that could create the appearance of conflicts, while maintaining that the family's business ventures are lawful.
Since returning to office, Trump has reversed his earlier skepticism toward digital assets and positioned the United States as a global leader in cryptocurrency innovation. His administration has promoted policies intended to expand the industry, while Trump himself has described the country as becoming the world's leading destination for crypto investment.
