MS NOW’s Jen Psaki devoted part of her Friday night episode of The Briefing to fact-checking Eric Trump after he threatened to sue her and the network over a Thursday report on his business interests.
“Today, the adult son of the President of the United States, Eric Trump, came after us on social media and accused us of lying,” the former Biden press secretary told viewers.
“Specifically, Eric took issue with us describing him as a member of the board of… a company called ALT5.”
The segment was a direct response to a furious X post from the president’s second-born son earlier Friday, in which he accused Psaki of spreading “blatant lies” for describing him as connected to crypto-linked firm ALT5 Sigma during coverage of President Donald Trump’s state visit to China.
Psaki had questioned whether Eric’s presence on the official trip posed a potential conflict of interest after The Financial Times reported that ALT5 Sigma was pursuing a deal with a Chinese chipmaker that U.S. lawmakers have warned is tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
“Contrary to her monolog (sic) and blatant lies, I have NEVER been on the board of ALT5 — not now, not ever," Trump wrote on X.
The MS NOW host responded by airing footage from Nasdaq’s opening bell ceremony from August last year.
“It is my great pleasure to welcome ALT5 board member Eric Trump,” one announcer says in the clip.
“I now want to welcome fellow board member and World Liberty co-founder, Eric Trump,” another speaker adds.
Psaki then walked viewers through what she described as the “complicated” history of Trump’s formal relationship with the company, noting that ALT5 had previously announced Trump would join its board of directors and that, at one point, SEC filings and the company website listed him as a director.
“In subsequent filings with the SEC, Eric was designated as an ‘observer’ on the board—a role that typically means you cannot cast a vote at board meetings, but you are able to attend them,” she explained.
But Psaki argued the broader issue was ALT5’s close relationship with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto company that Eric co-founded.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Trump’s appearance at the Nasdaq opening last year came as ALT5 celebrated its acquisition of a 7.5 percent stake in World Liberty Financial’s token supply, a deal worth $1.5 billion.
“Eric, of course, says that he has no business interests in China at all, and that he joined his dad’s official trip there for one reason and one reason alone: as a loving son who adores his dad,” Psaki said. “I’ll let you be the judge.”
