Trump Says ‘Can’t Have a Conflict of Interest’ as President

President-elect Donald Trump said that a sitting U.S. president “can’t have a conflict of interest,” responding to a surge of questions about whether his global business interests will collide with his official duties when he takes office in January.

Asked about potential business conflicts during an interview with the New York Times Tuesday, Trump said federal law is “totally on my side.” Federal law exempts presidents and vice presidents from some rules that ban officials from acting in ways that further their personal interests, an exception crafted out of the belief that presidents shouldn’t have to worry about triggering ethics probes when making hard decisions.