Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: Eric Trump, thank you for joining us on Bloomberg TV
Speaker 2: here in Abu Dhabi. Let's start for the you know,
Speaker 2: let's start with the obvious question. You're in Abu Dhabi
Speaker 2: over a month after your father, Donald Trump won the
Speaker 2: US elections. Can you talk to us a little bit
Speaker 2: about the reasons why you're here at this bitcoin conference.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a funny question because I've spent twenty years
Speaker 1: in the region. I built our first golf course here
Speaker 1: I don't know, fifteen plus years ago. We have a
Speaker 1: lot of partners in the region building Trump for National
Speaker 1: Hotel and in Dubai signed that obviously well before my father.
Speaker 1: I was back in politics doing projects in riod And
Speaker 1: and Jeda and Oman signed them long before politics. So
Speaker 1: listen where real estate, family hospitality in this region is unbelievable.
Speaker 3: And that's really what I'm here doing.
Speaker 1: And again, we've been operating property, we've been building property
Speaker 1: here for over the last decade. And we love the region.
Speaker 1: I mean, the growth of this region is incredible. Well,
Speaker 1: we were one of the first Western brands in here.
Speaker 1: I think my first strip over here was two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight. Two thousand and seven, two thousand and eight,
Speaker 1: and so to see what the region has done is amazing.
Speaker 3: To see the vision of the region is amazing.
Speaker 1: It's probably controversial that I say this, but you know,
Speaker 1: as a developer the region, you know, sometimes you leave
Speaker 1: here and you're almost jealous, right, sky's the limits over here.
Speaker 1: They want you to build incredible structures. They actually encourage
Speaker 1: you to build incredible structures. You know, so oftentimes in
Speaker 1: the Western world, and I'm not just talking about America,
Speaker 1: you're held back. They actually they limit you. They want
Speaker 1: to they want to cap you, they want to say no.
Speaker 1: You know, this is a region that wants to say yes.
Speaker 1: They want to see kind of the best architecture, the
Speaker 1: best innovative minds. And it's a beautiful place. If you're
Speaker 1: a developer, there's there's there's no place quite like it.
Speaker 2: But we're at a crypto conference, and then there are
Speaker 2: coinciding events that are happening.
Speaker 3: In Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 2: We've seen an influx of hetche funds, acid managers, you know,
Speaker 2: the likes of Ray Dalio coming to Abu Dhabi. So,
Speaker 2: you know, what can you tell us a little bit
Speaker 2: about are you trying to raise any kind of money.
Speaker 2: Are you seeking investors? What kind of people are you
Speaker 2: meeting in the UAE this week?
Speaker 3: Now, I'm not trying to raise any money. We don't
Speaker 3: we don't need to raise money.
Speaker 1: We're very, very fortunate to have a great private company
Speaker 1: that has a ton of cash, and you know, it's
Speaker 1: never been stronger. I'm here because I'm launching multiple buildings
Speaker 1: while I'm over here, buildings that we started, you know,
Speaker 1: several years ago, and and that are really launching now.
Speaker 1: And obviously in building the process takes a lot of time.
Speaker 1: But also I'm at the Big Cooin conference because I believe,
Speaker 1: I believe in cryptocurrencies. I believe that cryptocurrencies are the future.
Speaker 1: Banking is slow as hell. It's hands equated. It doesn't work.
Speaker 1: It doesn't make any sense that banks run on nine
Speaker 1: to five schedules, five days a week. When cryptocurrency you
Speaker 1: can You could trade it in the middle of the
Speaker 1: night on a you know, Saturday, at twelve pm, you know,
Speaker 1: while having dinner with your wife or sitting on the couch,
Speaker 1: you can trade cryptocurrency. The banks are lethargic, They don't
Speaker 1: work for everybody. They leave most people behind they're expensive,
Speaker 1: they're lethargic, they're not inclusive at all. And I think
Speaker 1: the modern banking system is changing very quickly. I think
Speaker 1: it's one of the reasons you see Black Rock spending
Speaker 1: billions in cryptocurrencies, and Fidelity in Schwab and you know,
Speaker 1: just about every bank under the sun.
Speaker 3: It's the future.
Speaker 1: I mean, why do I have to go all over
Speaker 1: you know, Abdabi to try and find ATM If I
Speaker 1: want to pull out one hundred bucks. By the time
Speaker 1: you pull out the money, you know you lose thirty
Speaker 1: percent on it based on currency change rates plus fees
Speaker 1: for the ATM. When you know you can literally pop
Speaker 1: open your wallet, you can send a link, takes you
Speaker 1: two seconds to do, and you don't have all those problems,
Speaker 1: you don't have all those structural problems.
Speaker 3: And so there's no question to me that times one
Speaker 3: hundred right. Blockchain.
Speaker 1: There's nothing that can be done in banking that can't
Speaker 1: be done more efficiently using blockchain, and blockchain changing the world,
Speaker 1: whether or.
Speaker 3: Not people like it or not.
Speaker 1: And there's a lot of people that see it, the
Speaker 1: people who are here at this conference. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of people who don't. The people who don't see it
Speaker 1: are the people who are gonna get left behind. And
Speaker 1: so so I believe in this technology, and my family
Speaker 1: believes in him. My father wants America to be the
Speaker 1: crypto capital of the world, and I'm happy to support
Speaker 1: it today.
Speaker 2: So, you know, going back to the crypto talking about
Speaker 2: bitcoin and bitcoin has rallied quite a bit since November fifth.
Speaker 2: What is the Trump family's take on the Bitcoin Strategic Preserve?
Speaker 2: Is that something that you know your dad gets behind.
Speaker 2: Is that something that you get behind.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we're a family that loves crypto. It certainly
Speaker 1: something that my father, I think has publicly said. In
Speaker 1: fact that the last bigcoint conference, he said that he
Speaker 1: wants it to be part of the you know, the
Speaker 1: Reserve and the Treasury. He also said he wants to
Speaker 1: see a lot of cryptocurrencies that are based in the
Speaker 1: US be tax free, and beyond that, be seeing all
Speaker 1: these other countries around the world lead the way when
Speaker 1: it comes to cryptocurrency.
Speaker 3: We're the superpower of the world, you know, we better
Speaker 3: lead the way.
Speaker 1: We better lead the way in terms of regulation and guidelines,
Speaker 1: a smart regulation. But instead we had incompetent SEC directors
Speaker 1: who wage war in the crypto industry for no reason whatsoever,
Speaker 1: gave massive competitive advantages to countries around the world. You know,
Speaker 1: that should never be ahead of the United States and
Speaker 1: anything that they do. But you know, I mean, every
Speaker 1: day it is finally another lawsuit against another great American
Speaker 1: company who just wanted to conduct business. And by the way,
Speaker 1: those companies were fine with regula, they just wanted the
Speaker 1: proper guidelines the place which they weren't willing to put
Speaker 1: in place. And so you know, I think my father's
Speaker 1: gonna be an unbelievable ally to the industry. I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna see great things happen. I think this digital
Speaker 1: revolution is going to change the world. I think America
Speaker 1: is going to lead the way, and I think bigcoin
Speaker 1: is obviously a big part of that because right now
Speaker 1: Bitcoin is is leading that digital revolution.
Speaker 3: There's no one that can say otherwise than that.
Speaker 1: You know, it's got triple to market cap of any
Speaker 1: other crypto, and no, it's it's special technology and it's
Speaker 1: one that that our country will embrace.
Speaker 2: And we've seen in recent days we've seen your dad
Speaker 2: also appoint David Sucks to be the czar for Crypto.
Speaker 2: So what does that role look like to you, how
Speaker 2: how do you think that role will come to life?
Speaker 2: What is you know, what is David going to be
Speaker 2: looking after when it comes to the industry.
Speaker 1: Isn't that refreshing to see somebody who actually knows something
Speaker 1: about AI and crypto run AI in crypto Kamala Harris
Speaker 1: was put in charge of AI and I'm not sure
Speaker 1: she could spell AI legitimately, you know, I don't think
Speaker 1: she knew a damn thing about Deanell. All of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you've got one the most successful people in the history
Speaker 1: of our country. You know, in that space, in the
Speaker 1: technology space, there's a running policy for technologies that you're
Speaker 1: going to change the world that are you know, they're
Speaker 1: moving forward like you're not cryptos here and it's not
Speaker 1: going anywhere. And again, if you don't brace it, you're
Speaker 1: gonna get left behind. I've said that several times. But
Speaker 1: isn't it really nice to see somebody who understands it
Speaker 1: so well, that's been so successful and it was right
Speaker 1: leading the charge for the United States of America the
Speaker 1: superpower of the world. And you know, versus some you
Speaker 1: know politician who spent their entire lives running for political office,
Speaker 1: you know, trying to figure it out, who's never been
Speaker 1: a success in it, who knows nothing about it, trying
Speaker 1: to figure their way around. And so I think that's
Speaker 1: the difference between the competency of my father's administration, the
Speaker 1: people that he's picking for his cabinet, versus the incompetency
Speaker 1: that we've seen over the last four years. It's really
Speaker 1: left us probably at a competitive disadvantage and just pivoting.
Speaker 2: To the Trump organization. And I know that you're here,
Speaker 2: and I know that you've said previously that your father
Speaker 2: loves the UAE and loves coming to the region, and
Speaker 2: I know that you're you know, visiting the region, not
Speaker 2: just that UAE. Do you think that once Donald Trump
Speaker 2: takes office that you know, foreign deals are gonna continue
Speaker 2: come back to fruition.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's I've run a real estate company for a
Speaker 1: very long time. We've been in real estate as a
Speaker 1: family for about one hundred years. You know, we're fourth
Speaker 1: generation in real estate. I've been in this region long
Speaker 1: before the notion of politics even you know, kind of
Speaker 1: tickled our mind.
Speaker 3: I'm not Hunter Biden.
Speaker 1: I'm not out there selling finger paintings for you know,
Speaker 1: five hundred thousand dollars or you know, whatever he sold
Speaker 1: them for. You know, we're a legitimate company with thousands
Speaker 1: of employees around the globe who run the best hospitality
Speaker 1: operations anywhere on or at, the best golf course, the
Speaker 1: best hotels, you know, the best commercial buildings, best real
Speaker 1: estate buildings, retail. You know, this has literally been generations
Speaker 1: in the making. It's been my entire life doing it again.
Speaker 1: I think I came to this country, as I said before,
Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven, for the first time. We've
Speaker 1: operated properties in this country for well over a decade
Speaker 1: before my father was ever even remotely considering you know, politics,
Speaker 1: and so I'm going to continue to run those properties,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to continue to have partnerships with great
Speaker 1: partners that we've had in this region for over a decade.
Speaker 1: And you know, I care about the ethical concerns more
Speaker 1: than anybody. I navigated it perfectly in twenty sixteen. We
Speaker 1: had ethical advisors, we had lawyers. Every single time we
Speaker 1: did anything, it had to be signed off by those
Speaker 1: ethical advisors as distinct wall. There is no light in
Speaker 1: between the you know, there's obviously complete separation between any
Speaker 1: government function and me I have no role in government.
Speaker 1: I want no role in government. At the same time,
Speaker 1: I've got a responsibility to literally, you know, almost tends
Speaker 1: up thousands of employees around the world to run a
Speaker 1: great company, and you can accomplish both. So I've been
Speaker 1: very clear there's a lot of countries I want nothing
Speaker 1: to do with in terms of you know, in terms
Speaker 1: of deals, too much conflict, too much nonsense.
Speaker 3: And I've kept myself out of those, you know.
Speaker 1: And I would never go into too business with a
Speaker 1: foreign government by any means. But to do a real
Speaker 1: estate tower, to do a hotel with a partner that
Speaker 1: we've had for years and years and years that we've
Speaker 1: done lots of projects with, or you know, to do
Speaker 1: some great villas on the beach where we're going out there.
Speaker 1: We're designing them, we're building them, we're managing them, doing
Speaker 1: what we do.
Speaker 3: Every single day.
Speaker 1: That's not a conflict of interest at all, and we'll
Speaker 1: continue to do it.
Speaker 2: So you wouldn't say that the reelection has affected the
Speaker 2: prospects for the Trump organization or how it looks at
Speaker 2: continuing to do those deals globally.
Speaker 1: No, No, I think the election does right and that
Speaker 1: we'll play by a very different rule. We'll have ethical advisors,
Speaker 1: where if you didn't have somebody in government, you wouldn't
Speaker 1: need that. We'll have very clear guidelines or it will
Speaker 1: be absolute separation. We'll do things immaculately, perfectly, and I'm
Speaker 1: committed to doing exactly that.
Speaker 3: Listen, politics always complicates things.
Speaker 1: Again, we were real estate family long before politics even
Speaker 1: entered my father's mind, you know, generations before. I mean
Speaker 1: I was in the business in two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: my father didn't consider running for politics, and then until
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen. I mean, you know, do the math on
Speaker 1: that was at nine months and nine years later. So listen, Obviously,
Speaker 1: politics as ranifications on everything. But no, I'm very committed
Speaker 1: to doing the right way. I'm very committed to ethics.
Speaker 1: You will find, you know, no Trump will be getting
Speaker 1: diamonds from the mayor of Moscow's wife, all right, Unlike
Speaker 1: the other side. It's amazing we saw administration where their
Speaker 1: family got into business when their parents got into the politics.
Speaker 1: You've seen a family on our end that's largely gotten
Speaker 1: out of business when their father got into politics, despite
Speaker 1: the fact that they were in business for years before.
Speaker 1: But no, we'll do it ethically. We'll do it responsibly.
Speaker 1: I'll maintain the commitment to our employees and our teams
Speaker 1: around the world. We'll do what we've done for a
Speaker 1: very long time. At the same time, I'll be very sensitive.
Speaker 1: We will not touch foreign governments, We will not touch
Speaker 1: certain regions of the world. You know, we'll be very
Speaker 1: smart about how we do things.