TLDR
- Donald Trump Jr. and CEO Zach Witkoff denied social media rumors that the Trump family has abandoned World Liberty Financial
- The rumor started after WLFI temporarily removed co-founders from its website
- World Liberty filed a defamation lawsuit against Tron founder Justin Sun in Florida, accusing him of gross misconduct and spreading false claims
- WLFI alleges Sun secretly shorted the WLFI token to drive down its price
- The firm says its USD1 stablecoin has real-time, on-chain proof of reserves via Chainlink
World Liberty Financial co-founders Donald Trump Jr. and Zach Witkoff took the stage at Consensus Miami on Thursday to shut down rumors circulating online about the company’s future.
TRUMP JR DENIES EXIT FROM WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL
Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) says the Trump family remains involved with World Liberty Financial $WLFI despite online rumors.
The speculation intensified after the company removed several co founders from its website.… pic.twitter.com/VzbXNrM3mD
— BSCN (@BSCNews) May 8, 2026
The rumors spread after World Liberty temporarily removed a list of co-founders — including President Donald Trump and his three sons — from the company’s website.
Trump Jr. said the reaction was overblown. “They changed the website design for a few minutes and, oh my God, they’re bailing on it,” he said.
Witkoff confirmed that Trump Jr. and Eric Trump remain co-founders. “As far as I’m aware, Don and Eric are still very much co-founders of the project,” he said.
Trump Jr. blamed the spread of rumors on bots and coordinated online activity. “Narratives get created. They’re driven, and they’re bot-farm based,” he said.
The appearance came days after World Liberty filed a defamation lawsuit against Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron network, in Florida state court.
Sun is one of World Liberty’s largest financial backers. Last month, he sued the company in California federal court, claiming WLFI unfairly froze his tokens.
World Liberty Hits Back at Justin Sun
World Liberty’s Florida lawsuit accuses Sun of “gross misconduct” tied to his WLFI token purchases. The company also claims Sun secretly shorted the WLFI token to push its price down.
Witkoff said the lawsuit was a last resort. “We wouldn’t have filed that lawsuit if we didn’t have the receipts,” he said.
World Liberty is represented by Clare Locke LLP, described as a top defamation law firm. The suit seeks damages and retractions from Sun.
The company also addressed online criticism of its USD1 stablecoin. Witkoff said USD1 has real-time proof of reserves, verified through a partnership with Chainlink.
He said users can check those reserves directly on-chain at any time.
Banking Charter in Final Stages
Witkoff also gave an update on the company’s application for a national trust bank charter. The application was filed in January with a division of the Treasury Department.
“I think we’re in the final stages of receiving conditional approval,” Witkoff said.
The charter would allow World Liberty to handle banking functions tied to its USD1 stablecoin.
The pending approval has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers. Senator Elizabeth Warren has called it “perhaps the most disgraceful presidential corruption scandal in U.S. history.”
World Liberty has not publicly responded to those specific allegations.
The Florida defamation case against Justin Sun remains ongoing, with the company seeking both financial damages and public retractions.
