Fact check: Jimmy Carter put his peanut farm into a blind trust during presidency
The claim: Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm before his presidency, Donald Trump’s businesses made $2.4 billion during his term
A Feb. 20 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) from the liberal group Occupy Democrats shows a screenshot of a tweet that makes a comparison between two former presidents.
“President Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm in order to avoid any conflicts of interest during his term, while grifter Trump’s business hauled in a whopping $2.4 billion during his presidential term,” reads the tweet. “SEE THE DIFFERENCE?”
The post was shared more than 600 times in four days.
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Our rating: Partly false
Carter put his peanut farm into a blind trust during the presidency – he didn't sell it. An expert told USA TODAY blind trusts allow someone to retain ownership of an asset while transferring management to another person or institution. Forbes reported in 2021 that former President Donald Trump’s business made $2.4 billion in revenue during his presidency.
Blind trusts change an asset's management, not ownership
Carter put his family-owned peanut business into a blind trust in 1976 before he took office in 1977, as reported by the Washington Post.
It was one of several measures Carter announced before his inauguration to avoid potential conflicts of interest and other ethical concerns, as he outlined in a 1977 statement included in the New York Times digital archive.
More: US presidents tend to live longer lives: Here's how Jimmy Carter's record age compares.
But putting an asset into a blind trust is not the same as selling it, Emory University law professor George Georgiev told USA TODAY.
“It’s a useful device that allows politicians and government officials, government bureaucrats, to retain ownership of an asset during the term of their federal appointment but to be in compliance still with best practices or rules,” he said.
In other words, it separates ownership of an asset from its management. The trustee has full control over decisions about the asset as long as the trust is in effect, Georgiev said.
The terms of a blind trust are established before the owner surrenders control of the asset. It may be in effect until a particular date, for example, or until a specific event happens, such as a presidential term expiring or an heir reaching adulthood, Georgiev said.
When reached for comment by USA TODAY, Occupy Democrats founder Omar Rivero said “gave up” would’ve been a more accurate term than “sold." He acknowledged the sale of the peanut farm happened after Carter left office.
The Carters sold the peanut farm in March 1981, shortly after Carter left office following a failed bid for a second term. Years of drought and changes in warehouse management had left the Carters with more than $1 million of debt at that point, according to the Plains Historical Preservation Trust.
The Trump number cited in the post is accurate.
A 2021 Forbes analysis found that Trump's business made $2.4 billion in revenue between January 2017 and December 2020 through commercial real estate, licensing, management and hotel businesses, property sales and other ventures.
Trump's businesses were put in a revocable trust for his presidency despite calls to sell his assets and put the proceeds in a blind trust, the New York Times reported in 2017.
Our fact-check sources:
George Georgiev, Feb. 24, Phone interview with USA TODAY
Plains Historical Preservation Trust, accessed Feb. 22, Peanuts
Cornell Law School, November 2021, Blind trust
Forbes, July 19, 2021, Trump's Business Hauled In $2.4 Billion During Four Years He Served As President
Washington Post, Sept. 18, 2019, The story of Jimmy Carter’s peanut farm is a bit more complicated than you may have heard
New York Times, Jan. 5, 1977, Texts of Carter Statement on Conflicts of Interest and Ethics; Appointees’ Guidelines
New York Times, Feb. 3, 2017, Trust Records Show Trump Is Still Closely Tied to His Empire
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Jimmy Carter put peanut farm in blind trust during term
