So according to this report in the New York Times the Trump family is scrambling to "clean up" any conflicts of interest before the new administration is sworn in next month. They are getting rid of their charitable work which we are supposed to believe means something. And they have settled some legal and labor disputes as well as halted some development deals around the world, using contractual clauses allowing them to back out due to shoddy work (which sounds like a recipe for more lawsuits and other trouble.)
Apparently son Eric is promising that he won't talk business with his daddy anymore so that's good. (Nobody cares what Donald Jr does I guess.) It's unknown what will happen with Ivanka's brand and Jared Kushner's empire. Presumably they'll cross their hearts and hope to die if their conflicts color their decisions, so that will take care of the problem.
Needless to say, this is totally inadequate. First, a blind trust doesn't mean the public has to blindly trust the president and his family. They're still confused on this. Second, there's no way to know whether they are fulfilling these promises because Trump refuses to release his tax returns or open his company to a public audit showing what he actually owns and owes.
If he doesn't destroy the world, he will leave office vastly more wealthy than when he came in. The response will be that the rules will be tightened again for the next Democrat who takes office and it will be supported strongly by the Democrats. The Republicans will know they have no obligation to follow them.
So all of this "activity" is reality show bullshit.
It's clear that the media is already losing interest in this story. This New York Times article asserts that the "most resonant" issue is the closing of the charity, which is a joke. The charities were always PR for the business and the family and whatever conflicts of interest they represent are nothing compared to the business conflicts both here and abroad. But I'm going to guess that until someone comes up with a direct quid pro quo --- which is entirely possible --- this story will fade. From what I can gather there seems to be developing a rationale for him using the office for personal gain based on the idea that "we" knew he was a businessman when he voted for him.
He said it himself:
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