President Donald Trump speaks with CNBC’s Joe Kernan in the Oval Office of the White House on July 2, 2026 in Washington.
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1. Trump feels bad for his children regarding the investment investigation
The president defended his family’s business and said he felt bad that the presidency creates a conflict of interest in any investments his children may have.
“They’ll do anything, because the presidency is so powerful… If they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy to make cupcakes, you know, how’s my energy policy?” Trump said during the interview.
“They do almost anything, if they want to buy a truck… If they buy an energy efficient truck, they have the inside information,” the president said.
The investments of the president’s children have been heavily scrutinized, particularly because their portfolios are in line with the strategic goals of the aging Trump administration. The Trump administration has approved deals or contracts with a number of companies in which the younger Trump has invested, from drone manufacturers to mining ventures.
Those investments have raised eyebrows in Congress, with some Democrats aiming to investigate the younger Trump’s deals for possible insider trading or conflicts of interest.
2. Trump says his son Eric handles his money
Donald Trump Jr., left, and Eric Trump speaking at “Squawk on the Street” on Feb. 18, 2026.
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Fresh from a mass release Financial disclosures show the president will net more than $2 billion in 2025 Trump said his son Eric Trump handles his finances along with those of larger financial institutions.
“It’s given to big companies…my son Eric takes care of it,” Trump said. “I don’t talk to them about things like that. I think I would be allowed to, I don’t even know what the situation is, but I don’t.”
Eric Trump “gives it to like a semi-blind trust or a blind trust where people invest,” Trump said. The White House has previously said that Trump’s finances are managed by his children, and the president has specified one of his five children.
Trump’s financial disclosures have triggered massive scrutiny over potential profiteering from the presidency. The White House has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Trump’s disclosures also mention $515 million from the Trump-aligned World Liberty Financial token sale and $65 million from the sale of equity in WLF’s holding company. In the interview Trump said there was “nothing illegal” and “nothing wrong” in the crypto venture.
3. The President still wants to fire Lisa Cook
Trump doubles down on his desire to remove Federal Reserve governors Even after the Supreme Court barred Lisa Cook from doing so for the time being.
The high court ruled earlier this week that Trump cannot fire Cook yet because his legal challenge against his dismissal is still ongoing. But the justices left the door open to dismissing Cook on the merits in a 5-4 decision.
Trump was unperturbed by the decision, saying in an interview that he would oust Cook by “winning the case.”
Trump said, “They sent it back not on the merits” but on the “process and procedure.”
Trump is attempting to fire Cook over alleged mortgage fraud, which was uncovered by Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte, who is now also the acting director of national intelligence.
4. Trump is very happy on the housing bill; still wants save act
House Speaker 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
When asked whether he would sign, the President replied indifferently. Last month, Congress approved a bipartisan housing bill, a week after he torpedoed a triumphant signing ceremony on Capitol Hill just hours before it was to begin on the stalled Save America Act voter-ID bill.
When Trump was asked if he would sign the housing bill, he said, “There’s a lot of Democrat points out there that I don’t think are good, but that’s OK.” “But I’ve decided that I’m not going to sign anything until we sign the Save America Act.”
Trump has been pushing the SAVE Act for months. The bill would require voter identification at the polls for proof of citizenship to register to vote and could make it more difficult to vote, especially for low-income and minority communities. The president also wants other conservative wish list ideas attached to the bill, such as a ban on mail-in voting, which has only limited support in Congress.
But the president’s signature blockage has now delayed the highly bipartisan housing bill, which both parties were hoping to use as an example of solving the affordability crisis.
Pressure for the SAVE Act has also shut down the House floor, as some Republican members of Congress have threatened to continue voting on other pieces of legislation unless the SAVE Act passes.
The Senate does not have the votes to pass the measure, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. And his party doesn’t seem to have the appetite to get rid of the 60-vote filibuster.
“I would really like them to eliminate the filibuster, eliminate the filibuster,” Trump said.
The housing bill will become law with or without Trump’s signature, unless he vetoes it. He has not said that he will veto it and did not say so in the interview either.
5. ‘Our’ judge
Trump complained during the interview that the three liberal Supreme Court justices vote as a faction, while the conservatives often split apart.
“Very, very rarely do they vote as a caucus,” Trump said of liberals. “Whereas our guys, and we have six, but they move around a little bit.”
“Republicans want to show everyone how out of control they are, how honorable they are,” Trump said.
Supreme Court justices are technically non-partisan, although they are appointed based on their ideological leanings. However, the lifetime appointment protects them from partisan politics, and they often criticize the party of the president who appointed them.