Trump Wine Hits Government Shelves

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Topline

The Trump Organization’s second-term push to monetize Donald Trump’s presidency has reached the aisles of military exchanges, as Coast Guard-run stores, which provide service members and their families with access to tax-free consumer goods, have stocked Trump-branded wine and cider.

Key Facts

Coast Guard Exchanges at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and in Centreville, Virginia, recently stocked Trump-branded wine and cider, according to a photo postedon Instagram and confirmed by Forbes from calls to the stores.

While there’s been no shortage of Trump’s businesses capitalizing on the presidency—from using the presidential seal on golf markers at his courses to selling a $75 coffee table book showcasing pictures by his official White House photographer—these wines are among the few times Trump products have been sold at a government facility.

The White House referred inquiries to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard deferred to DHS and the Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.

Is It Legal For The Coast Guard To Sell Trump Wine?

“This is one of those things where there probably isn’t any legal issue, but there is an optics and an ethics issue,” said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog. He noted that whether the sales violate the Constitution’s domestic emoluments clause—which prohibits presidents from receiving government benefits beyond their salary—depends on how the wine is purchased. The president and vice president are exempt from most federal conflict-of-interest laws.

Chief Critic

“You don’t want to see the military essentially playing sides,” Libowitz told Forbes. “Are they going to try to make money for other presidents? It’s a weird thing.”

News Peg

Any restraint Trump showed in profiting off the presidency during his first term has vanished in his second. Trump’s net worth has jumped about $3 billion in the past year, according to Forbes’ estimates, driven largely by crypto ventures. But the money grab has reached tangible goods, too. The Trump Organization’s e-commerce outlet, TrumpStore.com, which largely shied away from presidential-themed swag during his first term, now has an entire 45-47 collection. And on Wednesday, the Trump Organization announced a licensed vendor’s release of the second edition of a silver coin. Selling for up to $460, the front shows Trump in profile with “president of the United States” emblazoned underneath.

What We Don’t Know

How long the Coast Guard Exchanges have carried Trump wine, how much they’ve sold and the full extent to which other military exchanges and government facilities sell Trump products. (Clerks at the two confirmed stores said they were sold out, with one adding that they do not expect to restock it.)

Key Background

Shortly before his inauguration in 2017, Trump attorney Sherri Dillon said her client “instructed us to take all steps realistically possible to make it clear that he is not exploiting the office of the presidency for his personal benefit.” Trump can earn income from his businesses while in office through the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the same vehicle he used during his first term. He is its sole donor and beneficiary, while Donald Trump Jr. serves as the trustee. The trust owns 100% of the winery’s land and an LLC holding wine-related trademarks, according to Trump’s latest financial disclosure. The Trump Organization confirmed in an April regulatory filing in the United Kingdom that Trump retains control over his businesses while in office. Trump bought the vineyard and winery operations in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2011. Eric Trump serves as the business’s president, and an LLC bearing his name holds the trade name Trump Winery. Coast Guard Exchanges are government-run retail stores, which do not rely on appropriated funds, and sell tax-free goods to members of the Coast Guard and other qualified customers, such as active duty and retired military, and civilian employees. The National Archives Store, run by an independent nonprofit that partners with the archives, currently sells one of Trump’s books.

Big Number

Forbes estimates Trump’s winery is worth about $44 million.

Surprising Fact

While Trump has said he has a “very aggressive policy on immigration,” the winery applied to hire 31 short-term, temporary foreign workers in 2025, according to records with the Department of Labor.

Tangent

In 2013, the Eric Trump Foundation paid $1,600 to a wine industry organization for a copper wine still and antique bottle washer purchased at an auction about an hour down the road from the winery. The foundation incorrectly identified the organization as a charity on its tax filings. Eric Trump said he did not know what the payment was, when Forbes reported about it in 2017.

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Donald Trump is worth about $6.6 billion today, with much of his wealth coming from crypto.