Countries have gotten results after enriching the Trumps. Could Canada do the same?
CBC
Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado was the latest foreign leader to enter the Oval Office with a golden gift on Thursday.
U.S. President Donald Trump was happy to take her Nobel Peace Prize, and even though it's not clear she'll receive anything in return, Machado had reason to believe that presents are more persuasive than arguments when dealing with Trump. Her tribute was just one example this week of the trend to lard the White House with foreign emoluments.
The government of Pakistan signed a deal on Wednesday with crypto company SC Financial Technologies to explore using a stablecoin called USD1.
SC's CEO is Zachary Witkoff, son of Trump's Mideast and Russia envoy, New York realtor Steve Witkoff. The stablecoin was created by World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm co-founded by Witkoff, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump.
It echoes a similar tactic followed by the United Arab Emirates.
In April 2025, a U.A.E. state-owned fund used $2 billion US of World Liberty cryptocurrency to invest in Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. Within weeks, the U.S. reversed its ban on sale of advanced AI-suitable chips to the U.A.E., making it possible for U.A.E. to launch the world's largest non-U.S. AI project.
Later in the year, Canadian Binance founder Changpeng Zhao received a presidential pardon for financial crimes, following a meeting with Zach Witkoff in Abu Dhabi.
Foreign governments and corporations have found many ways to give money directly to the Trumps and a handful of New York families connected to Trump since his real estate days: the Witkoffs, the Kushners and the Lutnicks.
And crypto presents a clear, hard to trace method for enriching the Trump and Witkoff families.
"Trump is by far the most visibly corrupt president the U.S. has known," said Kim Lane Scheppele, a sociology and international affairs professor at Princeton University.
"He doesn't even try to hide that he's making himself immensely rich by monetizing his office," Scheppele told CBC News. "Estimates of his wealth have skyrocketed since he took office."
Forbes found that Trump had earned $3 billion US in the first eight months of his term by "leveraging the presidency for profit."
The crude methods foreign governments used during his first term, such as block-booking rooms at Trump hotels, have given way to far more lucrative arrangements around crypto and licensing.
"I'm sure that we don't know the extent of foreign government access and influence with this White House since much of it occurs outside the glare of the spotlight," said Scheppele.
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As American and Israeli strikes pound Iran — while it attacks shipping and energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf — U.S. President Donald Trump made a new threat to Tehran's leaders.
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The Canadian government said Tuesday it is alarmed by the escalation of violence and attacks in Lebanon, as the war in the Middle East expands.
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Omid Golabkesh dragged his suitcase down a long hallway marking the exit of the Kapikoy border crossing in eastern Turkey. He had nearly reached the end of an exhausting journey that included a 12-hour drive to the checkpoint from his home in Tehran.