WASHINGTON, May 19, 2026 — Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump’s stock trading activity Monday, telling reporters the president relies on “independent wealth advisors” who manage his money without his input — even as reports show the federal disclosure forms listing more than 3,600 trades bear Trump’s own signature.
“The president doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his, like, Robinhood account buying and selling stocks,” Vance said at a White House press briefing. “That’s absurd. He has independent wealth advisors who manage his money. He is a wealthy person. He has had success in business. He’s not making these stock trades himself.”
The disclosure forms filed May 14 with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics — which bear Trump’s distinct signature, according to KFF Health News — show more than 3,600 individual trades made in the first quarter of 2026, collectively worth between $211 million and $687 million, in companies including Nvidia, Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Eli Lilly, and Axon.
‘That Was a Doozy’
The exchange was prompted by Andrew Feinberg of The Independent, who noted that Trump had promoted companies on Truth Social — sometimes including stock ticker symbols — while holding disclosed positions in those same companies. Feinberg also noted that Vance himself had called for banning public officials from trading stocks when he ran for Senate in 2022.
“This is a hell of a question,” Vance said before Feinberg finished. After Feinberg completed his question, Vance replied: “That was a doozy.”
Vance then accused Feinberg of delivering “a speech masquerading as a question,” saying: “You could just ask a question, try to get your answer, or you could do, like, a speech where you say, ‘You know, Mr. Vice President, you’re a terrible human being, and so is the president, so is the entire cabinet.’ Have a little bit of objectivity in the way that you ask these questions.”
Vance’s 2022 Position
The question of Vance’s prior stance was central to the exchange. When Vance ran for Senate in Ohio in 2022, he said at a Toledo town hall: “I think it should be illegal for members of Congress to trade stocks in this country. That is something you can actually get done on a bipartisan level,” according to HuffPost. At the time, Vance said he would likely put his own assets in a blind trust if elected.
At Monday’s briefing, Vance did not back away from that position — but applied it only to members of Congress, not the president. “I am a big fan of banning members of Congress from trading stocks,” he said. “So is the President of the United States. All of us believe that nobody should be taking proprietary information gained from public service and buying and selling stocks. We want to ban that process and make it illegal, which is exactly what the president has proposed doing.”
The Signature Question
The Trump Organization has consistently said the president plays no role in directing his investments. “Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments,” Kimberly Benza, director of executive operations and communications, has said. “Trades are executed and portfolios are balanced through automated investment processes.”
However, KFF Health News reported that the disclosure forms list seven purchases of Eli Lilly stock alone — and that “the disclosure forms bear Trump’s distinct signature.” The Trump Organization has not addressed the significance of that detail. Four of the Lilly purchases are marked “unsolicited” in the filings, a designation the Office of Government Ethics did not immediately clarify.
Hawley Responds — Calls for Broader Ban
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who last year advanced the HONEST Act — a stock trading ban bill that drew Trump’s ire — used Monday’s briefing as an opportunity to renew his call for a sweeping prohibition. “I’d be in favor of a uniform rule for everybody,” Hawley told NBC News. “By everybody, I mean everybody — Supreme Court justices, you pick it — that says you can’t trade in stock. I’d start with Congress, but I’d be happy to extend it all across the board.”
Hawley’s comments came the same day Vance was defending Trump’s trades at the briefing — underscoring the ongoing Republican divide over whether a trading ban should cover the executive branch.
The Broader Scrutiny
The trades have drawn a wave of Democratic criticism. Hillary Clinton called them “textbook corruption.” Gov. Gavin Newsom called them “corruption at the highest level.” Sen. Alex Padilla called Trump “the most corrupt president in our history.” Rep. Melanie Stansbury said they “look like potential insider trading” and vowed the trades “will be investigated.” Rep. Ilhan Omar called it unacceptable that elected officials are “getting rich off the backs of the American people while having access to insider information” and demanded an immediate ban.
Trump has also been fined $200 — the third time — for disclosing tens of millions in Microsoft and Amazon stock trades months after the legal 45-day deadline required by federal ethics law, according to the Washington Post. His full 2025 annual financial disclosures, due Friday, have been delayed 45 days after Trump and Vance both requested extensions.
At his State of the Union address earlier this year, Trump himself called for action on congressional stock trading. “Let’s also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information,” he said. Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of California shouted back from the floor: “How about you first?”
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