Our esteemed Republican president has found a way to boost small business through “deals” with China. Here’s the catch, it’s his business that is getting a boost.
The government of China awarded U.S. President Donald Trump valuable rights to his own name this week, in the form of a 10-year trademark for construction services. [...]
The registration this week came as a surprise win for Trump after a decade of trying — and failing — to wrest the rights to his name back from a man named Dong Wei. The abrupt turn in Trump's bureaucratic fortunes once he declared his candidacy has raised questions about the extent to which his political status may be helping his family business.
Any special treatment from China would mean that Trump effectively accepted a present from Beijing, an act that would violate the Constitution, Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said in an email. "A different conclusion might be reached if Trump had been treated like everyone else seeking a trademark, but the evidence does not point in that direction." — Associated Press/ABC
The Washington Post also has an article on the trademark ruling. They quote Trump’s lawyer in China who makes a case that the trademark was awarded because Trump was now a familiar name in China. There are also some notes that Chinese trademark law is being brought in line with international standards.
h/t to the AP reporters who covered this and to Jedd Legum at Thinkprogress, who tweeted this out yesterday…
— @subirgrewal