MAGA-Friendly CNBC Star Confronts Trump Goon on Awkward Deal

Trump-friendly CNBC host Joe Kernen has cornered Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about an eyebrow-raising deal being probed as a possible conflict of interest.

Read more Elon Musk Named in Bombshell Election Meddling Claim

The deal is a $1.6 billion federal investment in USA Rare Earth. Lutnick’s former financial firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by his sons, was selected to help raise the private capital needed to close the deal—and now it is drawing criticism from conservatives like Kernen.

“Your sons are now running Cantor, and there was a PIPE financing deal done where, to get, I think, the financing from the Commerce Department, Cantor was involved with raising some of the equity, and obviously they get a fee,” he said on Squak Box. “So the perception is that you’re sitting now at Commerce and you’re able to control what Cantor is getting in terms of fees with your sons running that company.”

He continued, “It looks like a conflict of interest. How do you respond to that?”

Lutnick, 65, whom Forbes estimates is worth $6.5 billion, said he had no idea Cantor was involved in the deal. He said the deal came to fruition because the U.S. needs to be more aggressive on rare-earth minerals in order to combat China.

Lutnick then tried to brush off the accusations, saying they were unimportant because he was no longer part of Cantor Fitzgerald.

“My kids bought it from me,” he said of his ex-company. “They own it, and I had nothing to do with that decision, and this is minor stuff anyway. You know that I am well-to-do. I don’t worry about this kind of stuff. The only thing I care about is I’m serving America.”

Read more Trump Calls Crisis Meeting as Midterms Nightmare Looms

He added, “People saying this kind of stuff are just trying to, you know, throw dirt at me and the Trump administration. But all I care about is America. All I’m here to do is take care of America.”

Congressional Democrats are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deal and Lutnick’s potential role in helping his ex-firm, where he spent 42 years, land it.

Kernen noted that many Americans are questioning whether Trump is using his second term to enrich his own family.

“The president, this family, you’re both very wealthy, but that doesn’t mean that there can’t be a perception that both families are benefiting from the positions you have now,” he said. Kernen estimated that such matters will likely be part of future congressional probes if Democrats win back the House as expected.

Lutnick insisted he is not concerned.

“Look, my old firm has 12,000 employees and did $12 billion in revenue,” he said. “It’s going to be involved in all sorts of business in financing on Wall Street. It’s a big, successful company. And to suggest that I care at all, or the president cares at all, is just wrong. I couldn’t care less about these things. All I care about is the bigger picture and about America.”