Trump won't pledge to divest from businesses if he wins second term

• Former President Donald Trump signaled he would once again refuse to give up ownership of his business empire if he returns to the White House following the 2024 election.
• Trump had been directly asked in a Fox News town hall if he would pledge to divest from his companies if he wins a second term.
• A recent report from House Democrats reported that Trump's businesses received nearly $8 million from foreign governments during his first two years in office.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday signaled that he plans to retain his stake in his business empire if he is elected to a second term in November. He also defended the millions of dollars his hotels and properties made from foreign governments while he was president.

"If I have a hotel and somebody comes in from China, that's a small amount of money," Trump said at a town hall event broadcast on Fox News. "I was doing services for that. People were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels, and they stayed there and they paid. I don't get $8 million for doing nothing," he added.

The comments were part of Trump's response to a direct question about whether he would pledge to divest himself from his privately owned real estate and hotel company if he won a second term.

The question also mentioned a recent report from House Democrats, which found that Trump's businesses were paid nearly $8 million from 20 foreign governments — including China and Saudi Arabia — during his first two years in office.

Instead of directly answering whether or not he would divest, Trump claimed that America's first president, George Washington, set a precedent for running his private business while also serving as president.

Washington — "a very rich man, people don't