According to a report released on Friday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, former US president Donald Trump and his family neglected to disclose more than 100 gifts totaling more than $250,000 that they received from foreign nations while he was in the White House. According to the report, 17 of the 117 presents sent overall were sent from India and are said to have cost close to $50,000.
Among the presents are a model of the Taj Mahal costing $4,600 (3.8 lakh), given to Modi by the late Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, and a pair of cufflinks worth $1,920 (1.5 lakh), given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021. According to reports, Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, sent a Makrana marble vase for $8,500 (about Rs. 7 lakh) as the most costly gift from India in 2021.
The Trump family had received 16 presents from Saudi Arabia totaling more than $45,000, including a sword worth about $24,000. Moreover, a number of missing items have been reported.
A life-size portrait of Trump ordered by the president of El Salvador prior to the 2020 presidential election and golf clubs from Shinzo Abe, the country’s former prime minister, are not included. The golf equipment were presented by Abe in 2017 and 2018 during visits to the Trump International Golf Course and Kasumigaseki Country Club, according to the article, and featured a putter valued at $460 and a driver costing $3,040.
Under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, gifts from foreign leaders to the president, vice president, and their families that cost more than a few hundred dollars must be disclosed to the State Department. The report’s preliminary findings show that less presents were disclosed by Trump and his family than were acknowledged by previous presidents.
Also, in 2019 and 2021, PM Modi gave Trump and his daughter Ivanka a black marble table with mother-of-pearl and stone inlay work valued at $1,400 and a gold bracelet valued at $2,450, respectively.
“Today’s preliminary findings suggest again the Trump Administration’s brazen disregard for the rule of law and its systematic mishandling of large gifts from foreign governments, including many lavish personalized gifts that vastly exceed the statutory limit in value but were never reported — some that are still missing today,” the opposition lawmakers mentioned in a statement.
They further stated that the committee would look into whether Trump broke the law by not paying the fair market value for the unreported priceless gifts.
