Prabowo's request to meet Eric Trump caught on live microphone at Gaza summit

A request for a family introduction at a peace summit

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was overheard asking United States President Donald Trump for a meeting with Eric Trump at a Gaza peace summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The exchange, captured by a live microphone shortly after Trump addressed assembled leaders, brought the president's family business into the public conversation at an event focused on ending fighting in Gaza.

Video shows Prabowo and Trump standing near a podium after the main speeches. The audio suggests neither realized the microphone was still active. Prabowo referred to a place he described as unsafe in security terms, then asked to meet the president's son. Trump offered to arrange a telephone call.

Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. are executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization, which markets real estate, hospitality projects and other ventures, including developments in Indonesia. Their father retains ownership of the business while its representatives say he has no role in daily decisions.

The brief conversation came minutes after leaders gathered to discuss a ceasefire and a wider effort to stop months of fighting in Gaza. Its setting gave a personal request greater public weight: a foreign president was asking the U.S. president for access to a family member who helps run a company with projects in that foreign president's country.

As of October 15, 2025, the purpose of the requested contact remained unclear. Neither government had explained whether Prabowo wanted to discuss private business, a public project, a security matter or some combination of those subjects. The exchange also included the name Hary, which has drawn attention because of the Trump Organization's Indonesian business partnerships.

What the leaders said

Prabowo, Indonesia's president, made the request while standing near Trump in front of microphones. The audible words moved the conversation away from the summit's public agenda toward contact with Trump's son.

Can I meet Eric?

Trump, the U.S. president, appeared to agree. He twice offered to have Eric reach out by telephone, using a familiar tone.

I'll have Eric call. Should I do that? He's such a good boy. I'll have Eric call.

Prabowo then referred to finding a more suitable location and indicated that he was open to speaking with either of Trump's sons.

We will look for a better place ... Eric or Don Jr.

Prabowo also mentioned Hary during the exchange. In Indonesia, that name is associated with Hary Tanoesoedibjo, the billionaire founder of MNC Group and a longstanding business partner of the Trump Organization. The limited audio leaves both the identity of the person mentioned and the subject of that part of the conversation uncertain.

Trump's offer was to arrange a call. Prabowo's reference to a better place followed his remarks about security, but the conversation gave no detailed explanation of the location he had in mind. The words made the request for contact clear while leaving its practical purpose unexplained.

Why the setting brought scrutiny

World leaders were in Egypt to support a fragile Gaza ceasefire and discuss how to sustain calm. A request involving a private business executive, who is also the U.S. president's son, put questions about access and priorities alongside that diplomatic agenda.

Presidents speak with foreign leaders in formal meetings and informal conversations. Those exchanges can cover regional disputes, trade or simple logistics. Here, the microphone made a short aside public, shifting attention from the Gaza discussions to whether an international gathering was being used to coordinate a private contact.

Public concern centers on the overlap between Trump's duties and his continuing ownership of a business run by his sons. A foreign leader may have reasons to speak with a company executive, yet an introduction arranged by the president can make the company's access appear closely connected to political office.

Ethics specialists focus on that appearance as well as on any specific exchange of favors. Their concern is that foreign governments or private actors may see dealings with the president's brand as a way to win favor, or believe private interests have a privileged channel during official events.

Even a conversation intended to address a public project or security issue can attract that scrutiny when the proposed participant also manages commercial ventures in the requesting leader's country. The question of public trust rests on how clearly officials separate their responsibilities from private interests.

How Trump kept ownership while transferring management

Donald Trump placed his private assets in a revocable trust during his first term. His sons and a close associate managed the trust, while he kept ownership. A revocable trust is an arrangement the person who establishes it can change or cancel.

Trump did not sell his interests or create a blind trust. A blind trust is designed to keep an officeholder apart from knowledge and control of the assets being managed, reducing the chance that public decisions are influenced by personal investments.

Ethics specialists argued that Trump's arrangement fell short of that separation. The properties were known, the beneficiaries and managers were public, and the president received regular reports about the business. Moving management to other people left his financial interest in the company intact.

Trump returned to that approach in his second term. The Trump Organization says he does not participate in daily operations and that his adult sons oversee deals and development. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. therefore occupy a position that combines a close family relationship with responsibility for an international business.

Supporters point out that no statute forces a president to sell private holdings. Critics warn that continued ownership can encourage foreign governments and private investors to view the business as a route to political favor. Those competing positions explain why a short request for an introduction attracted attention beyond the summit itself.

Most modern presidents have chosen a sharper separation from private assets to avoid the appearance that official decisions could benefit their holdings. Some created blind trusts and sold stock. Trump's ownership of a broad real estate and licensing business keeps commercial developments connected to public discussion of his official contacts and travel.

The Indonesian projects behind the interest

The Trump Organization markets a golf club near Jakarta as part of an integrated resort. Its website also lists a luxury resort and golf club in Tabanan, on the island of Bali, as coming soon. Both developments involve partnerships with MNC Group, the Indonesian conglomerate led by Hary Tanoesoedibjo.

MNC Land, the group's property unit, has promoted Lido City, about 60 kilometers south of Jakarta, as an entertainment and tourism corridor. The development forms part of the commercial context surrounding the Trump brand's presence in Indonesia.

Indonesia's environment ministry ordered MNC Land in February to halt aspects of development at Lido because of water management and environmental concerns. The order affected parts of the development, while company statements described cooperation with regulators and plans to address compliance.

The golf and hospitality components have experienced delays. The Bali project has remained in the planning and approvals phase for several years. The Trump Organization presents Indonesia as a growth opportunity, and Eric Trump has publicized the brand's presence there in recent months.

The sequence places the summit exchange against a longer history of development plans, regulatory intervention and promotion:

• During Trump's first presidential term, he retained ownership of his business while placing assets in a revocable trust managed by his sons and a close associate.
• For several years, the proposed resort and golf club in Bali have remained in planning and approvals.
• In February 2025, Indonesia's environment ministry ordered a halt to aspects of development at Lido over water management and environmental concerns.
• In recent months, Eric Trump publicized the Trump brand's presence in Indonesia.
• At the Gaza summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Prabowo asked Trump for contact with Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr.

Who Hary is, and Indonesia's investment priorities

Hary Tanoesoedibjo is one of Indonesia's most visible media and property magnates. Through MNC Group, he controls television networks, digital platforms, gaming businesses and extensive land holdings. His company has cultivated international partnerships, including its collaboration with the Trump Organization on prominent properties.

Hary has attended prominent political events in the United States and positioned MNC as a national champion seeking to attract global investors. If Prabowo was referring to him, the mention would fit the longstanding relationship between MNC and the Trump brand.

Indonesia's leadership has sought foreign investment to support tourism and infrastructure across the archipelago. Prabowo, a former general, took office with a mandate to maintain economic momentum and has encouraged prominent projects intended to create jobs and attract visitors.

That investment agenda intersects with the Trump Organization's focus on premium resorts. Indonesia is one of the few countries where the company maintains active projects while Donald Trump serves as president. The developments therefore connect local ambitions for tourism and employment with a business whose owner also directs U.S. foreign policy.

MNC's role gives the name heard in the conversation a specific commercial context. At the same time, the Indonesian government's interest in foreign investment helps explain why international business contacts can sit close to diplomatic relationships, particularly around large tourism and infrastructure projects.

What leaders had gathered to discuss in Gaza

The Sharm el Sheikh meeting centered on a newly announced Gaza ceasefire and steps to stabilize the territory. Leaders gathered to endorse measures to stop rocket fire, reopen crossings for humanitarian relief and outline a political process intended to reduce the risk of renewed fighting.

Trump's remarks praised the ceasefire and called on regional partners to support a sustained halt to violence. The summit sought to demonstrate agreement among key participants on reducing tensions and planning reconstruction after months of fighting.

For Gaza, the immediate priorities concerned whether violence would remain halted and whether humanitarian assistance could enter through reopened crossings. Reconstruction planning and a political process addressed the longer effort to prevent another breakdown.

Summits combine public speeches with private conversations in corridors and around meeting rooms. The live microphone exposed one such aside. Its brevity contrasted with the weight of the event's agenda, making the request for a family introduction an unexpected focus of attention.

Leaders who carry public responsibilities while retaining private brands face scrutiny over where those roles meet. At this summit, the public discussion of war and peace and the personal request involving a business executive occurred within minutes of each other.

What officials and companies said

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the exchange. Prabowo's office did not comment. Indonesia's foreign ministry said it had not reviewed the audio, leaving its position distinct from the absence of an immediate response from the other offices.

The Trump Organization and MNC Group also did not respond to questions about whether the leaders were referring to the Indonesian projects. The Trump Organization's stated position on its management remains that Donald Trump does not participate in operations and that his adult sons oversee deals and development.

Indonesian officials have described Prabowo and Trump as having a friendly rapport. That personal ease helps explain how a quick request for a telephone introduction could arise in a formal setting.

In Jakarta, some analysts described the moment as informal contact between leaders, while others called for clearer protocols separating state engagements from private contacts during official travel. The episode was considered unlikely to generate substantial political fallout for Prabowo, who remains popular at home and presents himself as a pragmatic leader focused on security and growth.

Ethics specialists argue that a modern presidency benefits from a deeper separation between public office and private business to protect public trust. The management arrangement is allowed under federal law, but the absence of company and government explanations left the public without a fuller account of the proposed conversation.

Which rules apply to a president's business interests?

U.S. law treats the president differently from most executive branch employees in its main criminal conflict of interest statute. That law generally restricts officials from participating in matters affecting their financial interests, but it exempts the president and vice president. The exemption reflects concerns about the separation of powers, the division of authority among branches of government.

The Constitution's Emoluments Clauses still apply. An emolument is a payment or benefit associated with an office or employment. The constitutional rules include a bar on federal officeholders accepting gifts, payments or benefits from foreign states without congressional consent.

Presidents also remain subject to bribery prohibitions and honest services laws, along with rules against misuse of office for private gain. Bribery concerns an exchange in which something of value is offered or received for an official action. The broader system relies on transparency, voluntary separation from private assets and political accountability through oversight and elections.

Lawsuits over emoluments during Trump's presidency produced years of litigation. Courts resolved some disputes on procedural grounds, leaving the broader debate about his business ownership and presidential responsibilities unsettled.

Trump's retained ownership means developments involving the company regularly intersect with his public role. The request from Prabowo illustrates that overlap in concrete terms: a foreign head of state asked the U.S. president to arrange contact with a son who helps manage business projects in the foreign leader's country.

The next developments would depend on any contact and its subject. If Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr. speaks with Prabowo about private ventures in Indonesia, watchdog groups are likely to seek records or file complaints. If the discussion concerns a public project or security matter, officials can document its purpose and participants to provide a clearer account of the contact.

What to Know

• Prabowo Subianto asked Donald Trump for a meeting with Eric Trump during an exchange captured by a live microphone at the Gaza summit in Sharm el Sheikh.
• Trump twice offered to have Eric call. Prabowo said he was open to speaking with Eric or Donald Trump Jr.
• The exchange included the name Hary, associated in Indonesia with MNC Group founder and Trump business partner Hary Tanoesoedibjo, but its context was unclear.
• The Trump Organization markets a golf club near Jakarta and lists a luxury resort and golf club in Tabanan, Bali, as coming soon, both with MNC Group.
• Indonesia's environment ministry halted aspects of Lido development in February over water management and environmental concerns. Both Indonesian projects have experienced delays.
• Trump retains business ownership while his sons oversee management. The presidency is exempt from the main criminal conflict of interest statute, but constitutional and bribery restrictions still apply.
• The summit focused on sustaining a Gaza ceasefire, reopening crossings for aid and reducing the risk of renewed fighting.
• The White House, Prabowo's office and the companies did not immediately comment. Indonesia's foreign ministry said it had not reviewed the audio.