President Donald Trump disclosed more than 1,100 securities transactions made on his behalf in July, including sales of as much as $25 million each of Microsoft and Amazon shares.
The 1,156 purchases and sales totaled between roughly $79 million and $270 million, according to a CNBC analysis of Trump’s latest financial disclosure. Purchases totaled at least $43.6 million, while sales came to at least $35.6 million, in what appears to be a broad reshuffling of his portfolio.
The largest transactions were July 20 sales of between $5 million and $25 million each of Microsoft and Amazon. Three days later, Trump reported buying between $100,001 and $250,000 of Microsoft and between $1,001 and $15,000 of Amazon.
The Broader Rotation
The same July 20 entries show sales of between $1 million and $5 million of Oracle, along with purchases that included between $500,001 and $1 million of Nvidia.
The filing also shows a $250,001 to $500,000 sale of Northrop Grumman that day, when Trump signed an executive order tightening supply chain requirements for defense contractors and restricting waivers for certain critical materials sourced from China and other covered countries.
Trump also traded shares of companies led by Elon Musk. He bought between $15,001 and $50,000 of SpaceX shares on July 10 and sold between $1,001 and $15,000 on July 17. SpaceX went public June 12 in the largest IPO on record.
A Pattern of Heavy Trading
While the filing shows activity conducted on Trump’s behalf, broad value ranges obscure his exact holdings. Still, heavy trading has been a feature of his second term.
In June, Trump disclosed 1,051 transactions totaling between $78.1 million and $263.1 million. The president’s 2025 annual financial disclosure showed more than 21,000 securities trades across eight accounts holding at least $858 million, compared with 86 stock transactions disclosed during his first year in office in 2017.
The White House Defense
The White House has repeatedly defended the trades and said independent advisors manage the portfolio without input from Trump or his family.
“President Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold.”
Recent presidents, however, have generally divested individual stocks or relied on blind trusts or diversified funds to avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest
The Bottom Line
President Trump disclosed 1,156 securities transactions in July, totaling roughly $79 million and $270 million. The largest were sales of up to $25 million each of Microsoft and Amazon. The filing shows continued heavy trading across technology, defense, ETFs, and bonds. The White House says the portfolio is independently managed and Trump has no input. Recent presidents have typically divested individual stocks to avoid conflicts of interest.
My Opinion
Twenty-one thousand trades in a year. More than 1,100 in July alone. That is not passive investing. That is active trading at a volume that would make a Wall Street professional dizzy.
The White House says Trump has no input. Independent managers make the decisions. The president does not know what is being bought or sold. Perhaps that is true. But the appearance of a conflict does not require proof of one. When the president of the United States is trading Microsoft and Amazon on the same day he signs an executive order affecting federal contractors and tech supply chains, the public has a right to ask questions. When he holds SpaceX stock while SpaceX holds Pentagon contracts, the public has a right to ask more.
Recent presidents from both parties avoided this problem by divesting individual stocks. They put their holdings in blind trusts or diversified index funds. They did not want to be in a position where their personal financial interests could even appear to intersect with their public duties. Trump has chosen a different path. That is his right. But it is also a choice, and it is one the American people should scrutinize — not because he is breaking the law, but because the standard for the presidency has always been higher than mere legality.
A president who trades 21,000 securities in a year is not just managing his wealth. He is inviting every voter to wonder whose interests he is really serving.
