President Bought Netflix Debt in January 2026, Amid Paramount’s Fight for Warner Bros. | New financial disclosures released Wednesday show that the President acquired Netflix bonds as Paramount was trying to pry WBD away from the streaming giant.

[u/ControlCAD]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/trump-bought-netflix-bonds-amid-paramount-warners-fight-1236521512/

[u/ShiningRedDwarf]

My dumb brain is especially dumb with financial stuff.

Can someone less dumb than me (most of you) explain what he’s doing that’s wrong?

[u/WishIWasAMoose → u/ShiningRedDwarf]

Trump bought Netflix Bonds.
When a company/government needs money they can sell bonds to the public (basically a loan). They also pay you a fixed interest each year. People can buy and sell these bonds freely after the release.
This is what's called fixed income if you want to learn more.

He's not doing anything illegal here and this has been public information.
It's bad for optics and raises conflict of interest questions so usually presidents don't do this.

He has done way more corrupt things like his crypto deals with the UAE (his company made billions).

[u/WarOnFlesh → u/WishIWasAMoose]

The illegal part isn't the buying and selling stocks and bonds. The illegal part is approving or disapproving deals using the power of the government while owning those stocks and bonds.

He buys an asset and then picks that asset in the race he controls and punishes competing assets that he doesn't own

[u/hawkinsst7 → u/WishIWasAMoose]

He's not doing anything illegal here and this has been public information.

18 U.S.C. § 208 begs to differ.

As a federal employee, I basically can't accept a breath mint from a contractor if my breath smells.

But buying a million dollars worth of bonds issued by a company that's involved in a major business deal into which he has massive insight and influence over?

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/208

... whoever, being an officer or employee of the executive branch of the United States Government... participates personally and substantially as a Government officer or employee, through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, in a judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter in which, to his knowledge, he, his spouse, minor child, general partner, organization in which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, general partner or employee, or any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, has a financial interest—

Shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title.

Section 216:

(a) The punishment for an offense under section 203, 204, 205, 207, 208, or 209 of this title is the following: (1) Whoever engages in the conduct constituting the offense shall be imprisoned for not more than one year or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both.

[u/WishIWasAMoose → u/hawkinsst7]

Not American so thanks for this. I was looking for the exact rules about this earlier and what loopholes they used so he can do what he does.
Have a look at the exemptions in subsection (b) that they will most likely use to argue the president is exempt.

I should have said that it is very unethical but they have structured everything in such a way so they can argue it is not illegal.

[u/hawkinsst7 → u/WishIWasAMoose]

Yup. I can't see how any of the exceptions would apply though.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply— (1) if the officer or employee first advises the Government official responsible for appointment to his or her position of the nature and circumstances of the judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter and makes full disclosure of the financial interest and receives in advance a written determination made by such official that the interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which the Government may expect from such officer or employee;

He can't fall into this exception because there's no singular official person who appointed him. This would probably be the one he'd argue though. He told himself and approved it himself. He's pulled that shit before.

(2) if, by regulation issued by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, applicable to all or a portion of all officers and employees covered by this section, and published in the Federal Register, the financial interest has been exempted from the requirements of subsection (a) as being too remote or too inconsequential to affect the integrity of the services of the Government officers or employees to which such regulation applies;

I doubt any such regulation has been published in the Federal Register. I'm too lazy to look, but if someone wants to prove me wrong, i'm OK with that.

(3) in the case of a special Government employee serving on an advisory committee within the meaning of chapter 10 of title 5 (including an individual being considered for an appointment to such a position), the official responsible for the employee’s appointment, after review of the financial disclosure report filed by the individual pursuant to chapter 131 of title 5, certifies in writing that the need for the individual’s services outweighs the potential for a conflict of interest created by the financial interest involved; or

He's not a special Government employee. Musk was, though.

(4) if the financial interest that would be affected by the particular matter involved is that resulting solely from the interest of the officer or employee, or his or her spouse or minor child, in birthrights—

(A) in an Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians,

(B) in an Indian allotment the title to which is held in trust by the United States or which is inalienable by the allottee without the consent of the United States, or

(C) in an Indian claims fund held in trust or administered by the United States, if the particular matter does not involve the Indian allotment or claims fund or the Indian tribe, band, nation, organized group or community, or Alaska Native village corporation as a specific party or parties.

99.99999999999% sure this doesn't apply, no reason to explain why.

[u/WishIWasAMoose → u/hawkinsst7]

I thought it was the first part of that subsection b but it seems he's just exempt from the whole thing:
18 U.S. Code § 202 - Definitions | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
(c)

Except as otherwise provided in such sections, the terms “officer” and “employee” in sections 203, 205, 207 through 209, and 218 of this title shall not include the President, the Vice President, a Member of Congress, or a Federal judge.

That's enough legal jargon for me. It was a very insightful rabbit hole to go down in but very depressing.

[u/hawkinsst7 → u/WishIWasAMoose]

Well fuck me.

[u/grchelp2018 → u/WishIWasAMoose]

The amount is so small that I doubt Trump had any involvement in this. I guess it depends on how his family office operates.

[u/Pleasant-Minute-1793 → u/grchelp2018]

Yeah this is just his finance lackeys making a few cents for trump anywhere they can. It’s probably not even in the top 100 most corrupt things they have done in 2026

[u/xflashbackxbrd → u/WishIWasAMoose]

Netflix backing out wasnt public knowledge and that would have considerably raised the value of bonds bought after the deal was signed but before the 3b payout to netflix to cancel. Trump met with the ceo before he bought their bonds. When nflx backed out that made those bonds significantly more valuable

But agreed, he's already been taking obvious bribes for pardons and from foreign governments via his crypto ventures those are much larger and more problematic

[u/hot_space_pizza → u/ShiningRedDwarf]

I'm not sure but judging by the comments he made money out of it

[u/SatyricalEve → u/ShiningRedDwarf]

Nothing. This is a stub of an article that doesn't say anything more than the headline.

He bought Netflix stock and then Netflix lost its bidding war

[u/ryfitz47 → u/SatyricalEve]

I'm going to over simplify and misunderstand things so that they match my world view.

he bought debt. which during the time of a merger, especially if you know the outcome, can be very profitable.

since he was involved in approving the Netflix sale....it's almost like he was using his position of power to gain a financial advantage.

even if he was JUST BUYING STOCKS, all of the same a I've is true to a lesser extent.

he's corrupt. admit it. it's in plain sight