US senator calls for investigation into Trump's Rolex invitation to the US Open

Watch giant and tennis sponsor Rolex, whose CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour invited US President and golf enthusiast Donald Trump to the final of the US Open in mid-September, has incurred the displeasure of US Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The American television network CNBC reported this. According to the report, Warren handed the Swiss watch brand a letter yesterday in which she claimed that Rolex was attempting to circumvent the 39 percent tariff imposed by the United States on Switzerland.

Trump was accompanied by family members and senior administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during his visit to Flushing Meadows in New York City.

“This invitation raises questions about whether they are pursuing a relationship with President Trump to obtain lucrative tariff exemptions for Rolex products,” the Massachusetts Democrat wrote to Jean-Frederic Dufour, according to CNBC.

"Given that the President tends to give preferential treatment to CEOs who can woo him with flattery, bribes, or both, the timing of his presence at the game in the Rolex box is concerning," Warren's letter, obtained by CNBC, continues.

"I wonder if you're trying to curry favor with the president to get special interest exemptions for Rolex products."

She also said Rolex's actions were the latest example of companies profiting from their executives' relationships with Trump. The meeting between Dufour and Rolex therefore warranted an investigation "to determine whether they are following Apple and Nvidia's example."

The background is that both Nvidia and Apple have announced domestic investments since Trump's return to the White House in January. Earlier this month, Trump also invited CEOs from the technology sector to a dinner at the White House, where the CEOs were also full of investment promises.

The White House's reaction was predictably harsh: "Pocahontas should use her time better than inventing stupid conspiracy theories," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to CNBC, referring to Trump's long-used term for Elizabeth Warren.

Apple has not yet responded to CNBC's request for comment, and NVIDIA and Rolex declined to comment.