Morning Joe hosts in disbelief that Trump has traded more stocks than all of Congress combined: ‘Draining the swamp?’
Por Brendan Rascius — – World RSS Feed
Morning Joe hosts in disbelief that Trump has traded more stocks than all of Congress combined: ‘Draining the swamp?’
‘It works out to nearly 60 stock trades a day — every day — since he’s taken office,’ one panellist noted
Brendan Rascius in New York Wednesday 16 September 2026 16:30 BST
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The hosts of Morning Joe expressed disbelief Wednesday over a report that President Donald Trump has made more stock trades than all members of Congress combined.
Trump, or his money managers, executed roughly 28,700 trades between his January 2025 inauguration and June, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. By comparison, the 535 members of Congress disclosed about 22,000 transactions during the same period.
Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and other panelists on the MS NOW morning show questioned how this report chimed with Trump’s long-running promise to “drain the swamp.”
“The guy that constantly attacked Nancy Pelosi for her husband — her husband — making stock trades, this guy has made more stock trades than every member of Congress combined?” Scarborough said. “That’s not draining the swamp?”
“I was doing some math here,” Jonathan Lemire said. “It’s 1,600 a month. It works out to nearly 60 stock trades a day — every day — since he’s taken office.”
open image in galleryJohn Heilemann replied: “That’s more stock trades than I’ve made in my life.”
“And his family has benefited, and he’s made more than $2 billion in this term since he arrived a year-and-a-half ago,” Geist added.
Geist appeared to be referring to Trump’s annual financial disclosure report, released earlier this summer, which showed reported revenue from his personal ventures and businesses rising from $622 million in 2024 to $2.2 billion in 2025. Much of that windfall came from cryptocurrency-related businesses.
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
Trump has insisted that he does not personally manage his expanding personal fortune, saying financial advisers handle those decisions.
“I don’t even speak to them,” he told reporters in July. “I think it’s called the blind account, but they basically, they take it, and I purposely, I never speak to any of the people that run the money.”
“You know why I’m profiting?” he added. “Because the stock market’s going up, everybody’s profiting.”
The overwhelming majority of Americans believe the U.S. government and its political leaders are corrupt, according to a June Gallup survey.
open image in galleryElsewhere in the Morning Joe segment, the hosts noted that Trump has backed a ban on stock trading by members of Congress, which House Republicans passed earlier this summer. The measure, however, does not bar the president from engaging in trading.
“The legislation does not apply to the president,” Brzezinski said. Scarborough added: “Of course it doesn’t.”
Scarborough added that Trump’s trading activity and reported earnings could become a political liability for Republicans in the midterm elections, particularly as many Americans are struggling with the ongoing high cost-of-living.
“You team that up…with the fact that Americans are struggling to pay for gas, for diesel, for groceries, for rent, for health care,” he said. “Boy, that becomes a toxic mix for voters.”
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle reiterated that the president’s stocks are managed by advisors.
“President Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” Ingle told The Independent. “All holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000.”
“Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” he added. “All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers. There are no conflicts of interest.”
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Donald TrumpCongressUS stock marketJoe ScarboroughMika Brzezinski
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