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Donald Trump Tweets He’s Leaving ‘Great Business’ to Focus on Presidency Amid Conflict-of-Interest Concerns

Donald Trump announced via Twitter on Wednesday, November 30, that he’s leaving his family business and Trump Organization empire behind so that he can focus on his presidency.

“I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote to his more than 16 million followers.

Related: PHOTOS: Donald Trump's Most Offensive and Outrageous Quotes Ranked

“While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses,” he continued. “Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!”

Donald Trump
Donald Trump

On the campaign trail, Trump, 70, said that he would eventually turn over his more than 500 businesses to his children.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars Who Played the President

Trump’s decision comes two days after the New York Times posted a piece about his “conflict-of-interest” problem, stating that it’s possible that corporate interests or foreign countries could bribe him while he’s commander in chief. Per NYT writer Andrew Ross Sorkin, a chief executive of one of the largest companies in the country allegedly told Sorkin he was going to stay at the “new Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue as an ‘easy way’ to ingratiate himself with your new administration.”

Earlier this month, the mogul beat Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. His inauguration is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., on Friday, January 20.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrities' Political Affiliations

President Barack Obama, who was an avid supporter of Clinton, 69, opened up about Trump’s win in a new interview with Rolling Stone editor and publisher Jann S. Wenner.

“Well, I’m disappointed, partly because I think Hillary Clinton would be a very fine president,” Obama, 55, said. “As I said on the campaign trail, a lot of the work we’ve done is only partially complete. And we need some continuity in order for us to maximize its benefits. … That’s the thing about democracy. That’s the thing about voting. It doesn’t mean polls are irrelevant, but there is always a human variable involved in this. So I think the odds of Donald Trump winning were always around 20 percent. That [doesn’t] seem like a lot, but one out of five is not that unusual. It’s not a miracle.”

Trump, meanwhile, has been busy choosing members for his White House Cabinet. Read who he’s picked so far here.

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