Vice President JD Vance rebuffs question about President Trump’s stock investments, says Trump is so wealthy he doesn’t trade stocks himself

President Donald Trump is so wealthy he doesn’t need to trade stocks himself, argued Vice President JD Vance, after the President’s ethics report last week revealed a flurry of stock trading in an account held in Trump’s name. During an hour-long press conference Tuesday, Vance defended Trump, following criticism that emerged last week about stock trades made by the President’s account during the first quarter. The account made about 3,700 stock trades in the first three months of the year, according to a report by the Office of Government Ethics. In some cases the manager of the account purchased shares from companies that the President subsequently lauded at events or on social media. Vance rejected the idea that Trump was the one behind these trades or that he has any influence over them. He said that as “a wealthy person” who “has had success in business,” the President can afford to delegate the management of his investments to other people. “The president doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer, on his like Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks. That’s absurd,” said Vance. “He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money.” When reached for comment, the White House referred Fortune to the Trump Organization. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization previously told Fortune’s Eva Roytburg that Trump’s investment holdings are operated by third-party financial institutions with “sole and exclusive authority over all investment decisions,” and that trades are executed through “automated investment processes.” The organization did not immediately respond to Fortune’s more recent request for comment. President Trump’s stocks have raised questions about his public praise of companies in which he appeared to have recently acquired financial stakes. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-he