President Donald Trump publicly praised three major American corporations on the same day or the day after he had bought tens of thousands of dollars of their stocks, according to recently reported financial disclosures.Trump’s first-quarter investment filings, submitted late this month to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, show that the president purchased stock of Apple, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Micron around the time he touted them in public remarks, either within a day of his purchase or that exact day.By law, Trump is required to report trades over $1,000 within 45 days of the transaction date, as mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. However, he missed the 45-day deadline for many of his trades, some of which were made months ago. As a result, Trump was fined a standard $200 late-filing fee.
According to the president’s periodic transaction report, on March 11, Trump bought between $15,000 and $50,000 of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock. That very day, Trump took a tour of a Thermo Fisher manufacturing facility in Reading, Ohio, where he heaped praise upon the biotechnology firm in a video posted by the White House.
“It’s a great honor being here. It’s a great company,” Trump said at the March 11 site visit, appearing alongside Thermo Fisher CEO Marc Casper.
