Morning Joe hosts expressed shock over a Bloomberg report stating that President Donald Trump has made around 28,700 stock trades since his inauguration in January 2025, surpassing the combined total of approximately 22,000 transactions by all members of Congress. The hosts criticized this activity as contradicting Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp,” questioning his ethics and highlighting the discrepancy between his actions and rhetoric. They also noted that Trump claims not to personally manage these trades but rather relies on financial advisors.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The hosts of Morning Joe expressed disbelief Wednesday over a report that President Donald Trump has made more stock trades than all members of Congress combined.
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Trump → express → Congress
Trump, or his money managers, executed roughly 28,700 trades between his January 2025 inauguration and June, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
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Bloomberg → execute → inauguration
By comparison, the 535 members of Congress disclosed about 22,000 transactions during the same period.
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members → disclose → period
Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and other panelists on the MS NOW morning show questioned how this report chimed with Trump’s long-running promise to “drain the swamp.”
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report → question → swamp
“The guy that constantly attacked Nancy Pelosi for her husband — her husband — making stock trades, this guy has made more stock trades than every member of Congress combined?” Scarborough said.
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Scarborough → attack → Congress
“That’s not draining the swamp?”
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That → drain → swamp
“I was doing some math here,” Jonathan Lemire said.
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Lemire → do → math
“It’s 1,600 a month.
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It → ’ → ?
It works out to nearly 60 stock trades a day — every day — since he’s taken office.”
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he → work → office
John Heilemann replied: “That’s more stock trades than I’ve made in my life.”
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I → reply → life
“And his family has benefited, and he’s made more than $2 billion in this term since he arrived a year-and-a-half ago,” Geist added.
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Geist → benefit → term
Geist appeared to be referring to Trump’s annual financial disclosure report, released earlier this summer, which showed reported revenue from his personal ventures and businesses rising from $622 million in 2024 to $2.2 billion in 2025.
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revenue → appear → 2025
Much of that windfall came from cryptocurrency-related businesses.
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Much → come → businesses
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
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Independent → ask → comment
Trump has insisted that he does not personally manage his expanding personal fortune, saying financial advisers handle those decisions.
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advisers → insist → decisions
“I don’t even speak to them,” he told reporters in July.
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he → speak → July
“I think it’s called the blind account, but they basically, they take it, and I purposely, I never speak to any of the people that run the money.”
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that → think → money
“You know why I’m profiting?” he added.
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he → know → ?
“Because the stock market’s going up, everybody’s profiting.”
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everybody → go → ?
The overwhelming majority of Americans believe the U.S. government and its political leaders are corrupt, according to a June Gallup survey.
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government → believe → survey
Elsewhere in the Morning Joe segment, the hosts noted that Trump has backed a ban on stock trading by members of Congress, which House Republicans passed earlier this summer.
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Republicans → note → which
The measure, however, does not bar the president from engaging in trading.
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measure → bar → trading
“The legislation does not apply to the president,” Brzezinski said.
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Brzezinski → apply → president
Scarborough added: “Of course it doesn’t.”
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it → add → ?
Scarborough added that Trump’s trading activity and reported earnings could become a political liability for Republicans in the midterm elections, particularly as many Americans are struggling with the ongoing high cost-of-living.
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Americans → add → living
“You team that up…with the fact that Americans are struggling to pay for gas, for diesel, for groceries, for rent, for health care,” he said.
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he → team → care
“Boy, that becomes a toxic mix for voters.”
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that → become → voters
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle reiterated that the president’s stocks are managed by advisors.
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stocks → reach → advisors
“President Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” Ingle told The Independent.
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Ingle → manage → Independent
“All holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000.”
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that → maintain → Schwab
“Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” he added.
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he → have → input
“All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers.
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decisions → make → managers
The Aporia
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