Trump Boys Talk ‘Retribution’ as CEOs Kiss the Ring at Their Crypto Event

Donald Trump Jr. insists his father is "not involved." Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the eldest sons of President Donald Trump, are holding an event at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday for their crypto company, World Liberty Financial. In many ways, it’s a victory lap for the Trump family, a recognition that there is no mechanism available to stop the unprecedented corruption that’s being done out in the open, as foreign governments and U.S.-based executives jostle to please the Trump regime and profit from their proximity to political power. There’s no livestream available for the World Liberty Forum in Florida, but CNBC is on hand broadcasting as an “exclusive partner” for the event. CNBC host Sara Eisen sat down with the Trump sons to ask them about the goal of their conference. “We were the most canceled people in the world in 2020, 2021,” said Eric Trump. “And it’s really great to almost have this retribution where all of a sudden we start pushing an agenda. Our agenda was to modernize finance, to allow that to never, ever, ever happen to anybody again.” The part Eric Trump is leaving out, of course, is President Trump’s attempt at a self-coup on Jan. 6, 2021, sending a violent mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in a bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. The president was banned from the major social media platforms, and his family was cut off from some banking opportunities over his effort to overthrow the government. The president has since sued JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon over the moves. The Trump sons bragged to CNBC about how opening their own crypto company has given them “credibility” to operate outside the traditional banking system, but Eisen pointed out that “critics” will say “the credibility factor is the Trump name and the Trump White House, and that everyone is here to curry favor.” Eric Trump countered that “they didn’t give us much of a choice,” with Donald Trump Jr. proudly insisting “they created this monster.” EISEN: The critics say everyone is here to curry favor ERIC TRUMP: The great irony is they didn’t give us much of a choice DON JR: They created this monster ERIC: They were pulling these accounts from us like we were absolute dogs [image or embed] — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 18, 2026 at 7:34 AM Speakers at the World Liberty Forum include big names in both government and finance, like Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, NASDAQ CEO Adena Friedman, Chairman of the CFTC Michael Selig, President of the New York Stock Exchange Lynn Martin, and U.S. Senators Bernie Moreno and Ashley Moody. Moreno and Moody are both Republicans. Eisen also asked the Trump sons about foreign investments in their crypto ventures, specifically $187 million paid to Trump family entities from people connected to the Emirati royal family, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I do want to ask you about the World Liberty Corporation which has been in the news. And there was this big Wall Street Journal report about the 49% stake that was sold to an Emirati royal family member after your father was elected president, raising questions about whether they were doing that so they could get access to AI chips,” Eisen said. Donald Trump Jr. insisted that his father “has nothing to do with it” and that the UAE investment wasn’t related to access to AI chips. He also said that everyone goes to the Middle East to do business to find investment, calling the sovereign wealth funds in that part of the world “some of the biggest investors in every fund in America.” “We’ve been dealing with the conflict of interest stuff for years. And they tried all this nonsense the first time around. Frankly, it’s gotten old,” Donald Trump Jr. said, perhaps referring to the fact that no other White House in modern history has seen the president and his family profit in such a galling way. “They were the ones that put us into this position by creating legislation to try to put us out of business,” the Trump son continued. “We just fought back. We weren’t willing to sit in a corner, curl up in a ball, and die like they would love us to do. That’s not how we function. That’s not how we operate. And you can see that whether it’s my father or us, that’s never going to happen.” EISEN: I want to ask about the report that a 49% stake in World Liberty was sold to an Emirati royal after your dad was elected for access to AI chips DON JR: We’ve been dealing w/ the conflict of interest stuff for years. Frankly, it’s gotten old. They put us in this position. We just fought back. [image or embed] — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 18, 2026 at 7:43 AM World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, USD1, is a fiat-backed cryptocurrency that the Trumps have tried to tout as a brilliant hedge against the traditional financ