Trademarking yourself is perfectly legal if you have a yen to profit by your name. Running the presidency for profit is a different story. Unfortunately, the current composition of the Supreme Court may not be disposed to find it so. But if anything can be predicted with accuracy it is that Donald Trump's activity will not escape the attention of those who want him out of government sooner than later. In fact, the existence of such a legal effort is underway according to the New York Times. An extensive account can be accessed at the tweet below.
Profit and law
President Donald Trump continues to own his global business. The Constitution is clear about the president not accepting profit from a foreign government. A team of lawyers is on the case. They say that trademarking is essentially a for-profit venture. It matters not that two of Trump's sons are now in charge of hawking their father's name. The effort of the younger Trumps is to get trademark approvals. into the future. Such approvals result in Trump products being sold in countries like Peru. Sales are reportedly brisk.
The presidency on the block
Because this suit could render Donald Trump a private citizen again, efforts have been made to reassure the public. The sons have backed off from billions in potential revenue.
But nothing that is already underway or pending is affected. The President can dip into the profits at will, The problem is that as long as the issue which is Trump's continued ownership of his business remains, it will fester. If the past is the prelude, Trump will allow the festering to continue and trust his Justice Department to frame arguments that link him to George Washington who supplemented a small salary by exporting goods.
The presidency might be saved by a tweet.
Donald Trump is not alone
There is also the family including Ivanka who could also be vulnerable as she is following her father's footsteps in the branding department. She has a large handful of pending trademarks. She is also subject to charges if anyone cares to file them. The president also has a substantial slice of the population that will do anything he says and approve anything he does.
He has always been chased. It is nothing new. Any profit will do. The presidency is Donald Trump's new global business.
Trump’s Trademark Continues Its March Across the Globe, Raising Eyebrows https://t.co/Q4Ht2kh0ft
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) April 12, 2017
Can we have some values, please?
We are facing a critical point in our national life. The entire context of the Donald Trump presidency is a huge push to virtually privatize the nation, save for the military which gets a mammoth raise while the rest of government atrophies. This is a huge challenge. What is the right course? Three values serve as a universal test of all human actions. They are tolerance, helpfulness, and democracy. Ask yourself, are these values being served by our for-profit president?
