Wednesday Briefing: Trump’s worrisome business deals

October 30, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering Donald Trump’s business ties to foreign governments and U.S. war games with an eye on China.

Plus, what happened to repatriated art in Benin.

A man in a blue suit standing on a stage.

Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Trump’s business could create conflicts if he’s re-elected

Donald Trump is cashing in on a variety of new ventures as he seeks a second term. But unlike in his first term, when he halted new international deals and hired an outside ethics adviser, he is making no promises to rein in his company’s freewheeling ways.

This year alone, his business struck real estate deals in countries that are central to American foreign policy interests: Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Doing business overseas with government entities, not just traditional corporations, creates an ethical minefield where both those governments and Trump family business interests could benefit from U.S. foreign policy, experts said.

Such conflicts aren’t new for Trump, but there are more of them now. If he were to win, there would be little ability to curb them, legal and ethics experts said.

Your questions: We asked Theodore Schleifer, who covers campaign finance, this question from a reader.

I am surprised that Elon Musk is allowed to offer (big) money in return for signing a petition or register to vote. Doesn’t it defeat the purpose of a petition? Could that be considered as voting bribery? — Marie-Pauline Desset, New South Wales, Australia

Theodore: Musk is arguing that he is not offering money to register to vote — only to sign the petition. The catch though is that the petition is only open to registered voters, and so some legal critics think that it is effectively an inducement to register to vote.

The precise purpose of the petition is not totally clear, to be honest. Musk is collecting data on hard-core supporters of his political agenda, perhaps giving him a refined universe of voters to target for Trump on Election Day. Is this all just to get some earned media? Or maybe he’d want to use that data in a future operation? We don’t totally know.

For more: Theodore and my colleagues have reported on a warning from the Justice Department to Musk that he might be violating federal law. The Philadelphia district attorney sued him for setting up what amounted to an “unlawful lottery.”

More on the U.S. election

Election Day is Nov. 5.

Kamala Harris is set to deliver a major speech in Washington at the site where Trump addressed his supporters before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Iran, Russia and China are again interfering in the election. This time their efforts are far more sophisticated and harder to track.
An analysis of Trump’s Truth Social posts shows that he directly promoted false conspiracy theories at least 330 times.
Could the vote be contested again? Here are five things that could threaten the possibility of a smooth election.
Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka, was once one of his most prominent representatives on the campaign trail. Lately, she’s noticeably absent.

Palestinians searched through the rubble of after an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, yesterday. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An Israeli strike killed dozens in Gaza

An Israeli strike on a residential building in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, killed at least 55 people, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 93 people were killed, including 25 children.

It was the third time the town had been attacked in a week. The Biden administration said it had contacted the Israeli government to ask about what a spokesman called a “horrifying incident.” Many of the structures still standing in Gaza are heavily overcrowded, with many families sheltering in the fewer and fewer buildings that remain.

Other Middle East news:

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 60 people on Monday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
Hezbollah named Naim Qassem, its longtime deputy, as its new leader.

Two side by side photos. On the left is a pair of figures overlooking a coastline. On the right is a soldier, seen from behind, looking up toward someone parachuting through the sky.

The U.S. held military exercises this month in Hawaii. Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The U.S. Army is preparing for war with China

The big and cumbersome U.S. Army is trying to transform itself so it can deploy quickly to Asia.

The Army has spent the past two decades fighting the Taliban and other insurgents, but a war with China would be very different — for one thing, China has satellites that can spot troop movements from the sky. Such a war would be fought on the ground, at sea, in the air and in space. So the Army is practicing for exactly that.

MORE TOP NEWS

A man in a black jacket and black shirt holds a black folder embossed with a gold seal.

Stefan Rousseau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Britain: The Labour government introduced its long-awaited budget in a pivotal moment for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Vatican: A decade-old church commission on sexual abuse issued its first report. It was immediately criticized by victims’ advocates.
Ukraine: A muted response to the “victory plan” presented by President Volodymyr Zelensky has left Kyiv searching for a Plan B.
Russia: President Vladimir Putin oversaw a nuclear training exercise, a move seen as a show of force.
Tech: Concerns are growing among U.S. officials that Chinese companies may be routing chips and other products to Huawei, which is under U.S. sanctions.
Yemen: The Houthi militia has recently detained dozens of Yemenis linked to the U.S. Embassy and other international organizations.
Botswana: The party that has been in power since 1966 could be ousted in today’s elections as the economy struggles from a slump in demand for diamonds.
Travel: A new U.S. rule requiring airlines to provide refunds to passengers for significant flight disruptions went into effect.
U.S.: Here’s a look inside Elon Musk’s secret compound, which he hopes will house his children — of which there are at least 11 — and two of their three mothers.
Nature: A recently discovered “toadlet” that is 6.95 millimeters in length is the second-smallest vertebrate known to exist on the planet.

Sports

Soccer: An awards chief suggested that Vinicius Junior’s Ballon d’Or chances were harmed by the achievements of his Real Madrid teammates.
Tennis: Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Paris Masters because of an illness.
Golf: With PGA Tour cards on the line, the 2024 season enters its final stretch.

MORNING READ

Four members of a band are seen on stage over the heads of a tightly packed audience. Two of the members are playing guitars and one a bass, while the fourth is playing an instrument made of wood.

Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

The members of the Chinese band Varihnaz are both farmers and rock stars. They see the land and their music as inseparable, and their lyrics dwell on pesticides and poultry rearing. They offer music fans a refreshing break from the country’s hyper-commercialized popular entertainers and the intense competition of modern China.

Lives lived: Teri Garr, a star of 1970s and ’80s movies who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in “Tootsie,” died at 79.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Very puffy caramel-brown sneakers on a skateboard.

Soft shoes for soft landings. ERL

Splurge: Puffy and pricey, these $455 sneakers are billed as skateboard shoes — but maybe don’t try to skate in them.
Do animals grieve? A philosopher explores how animals of all kinds respond to death and dying.
The sweet spot: Sales of Nerds, the colorful pebble candy, have greatly increased in recent years, the company says. The secret? A multicolored cluster.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

In a film still, a man in a white hat and white jacket stands in front of a carved wooden statue.

Mati Diop. Mubi

The Benin Bronzes are home. Now what?

In the prizewinning documentary “Dahomey,” the French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop filmed the emotional return home of the Benin Bronzes in 2021.

Art historians hailed the return of the 26 artworks, looted by France in the 19th century, as a groundbreaking move that would pave the way for a steadier flow of repatriations. It was the most significant return to date of artworks from a former colonial power to an African country.

But three years after the cameras stopped rolling, the artworks are once again off limits to Benin’s public, and plans for a new museum to showcase the treasures have stalled.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Salmon with sauce and a salad of tomatoes and red onion.

Bryan Gardner for The New York Times

Cook: This quick salmon dinner is inspired by the beloved flavors of bagels and lox.

Shop: Small, women-founded brands are gaining recognition for their takes on the simple T-shirt.

Watch: These Halloween shows will take you where the world appears to be out of control.

Read: The healer in Scholastique Mukasonga’s novel “Sister Deborah” inspires a Black feminist uprising.

Heal: Antibiotics can wreck your gut. Here’s what you should eat to encourage recovery.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Gaya

Theodore Schleifer contributed to this newsletter.

P.S. Take a look at our lineup for this year’s DealBook Summit.

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