Last night, Donald Trump hosted 220 of the biggest suckers you know for dinner. As part of a promotion for his cryptocurrency memecoin $TRUMP, the President of the United States let the top bag holders of his coin come hang out, including offering a private VIP reception with the 25 biggest “investors.” According to the Wall Street Journal, the 220 who received invites spent a cumulative $148 million buying up $TRUMP before the event.
The event, which was held at the Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Potomac Falls, Virginia, was a real who’s who of people who make you go “I think I’ve heard of that person.” Perhaps the most famous person in the room was former NBA player Lamar Odom, who is now promoting his own memecoin. Others at the dinner included Brendan McCafferty, a guy CNN rather savagely called a “self-described media executive,” and Jeffrey Zirlin of the failed Axie Infinity game that got hacked for $600 million.
The Wall Street Journal noted that many of the attendees were foreigners, many of whom are big players in the crypto space. Others were looking to influence American policy—like Javier Selgas, the CEO of shipping company Freight Technologies, who made headlines by announcing plans to buy up $TRUMP to get a seat next to the president and try to advocate for easing tariffs.
The biggest mark of the night, though, was Justin Sun, a Chinese-born crypto mogul who has made himself a bit of a central figure in the Trump crypto cinematic universe. Sun faced charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly manipulating the price of his cryptocurrency $TRON. Earlier this year, Sun purchased $75 million worth of tokens from World Liberty Financial, the “decentralized finance protocol” run by Trump’s kids, and found his charges dropped. Sun was identified as the top holder of $TRUMP at the dinner event, holding about $18 million worth of the memecoin, and was awarded a “Trump Golden Tourbillion” watch, according to CNN.
By all accounts, the attendees did not get their money’s worth out of the event. YouTuber CoffeeZilla, an investigative journalist in the crypto space, said he was told by attendees that the event was disappointing and “wack.” Christoph Heuermann, a “serial entrepreneur” who attended the event, said in an Instagram post that Trump gave a 20-minute speech and “didn’t interact with the crowd other than enjoying being celebrated. Even VIP token holders (I know some) couldn’t speak or even shake hands with the president.” Don’t worry, though: If you thought that was meant as a criticism of the whole charade, it wasn’t. “It was still well worth it to experience the president live and watch his mightily secured arrival and departure,” Heuermann wrote.
Trump’s short speech—which he made in front of the official presidential seal despite the White House claiming it was a “private” event—seemed to be a classic rambling “weave” of an address, recounting his 2024 presidential election victory and bragging about closing the southern border in between the occasion bit of red meat tossed to the crypto crowd, according to CNN. “The Biden administration persecuted crypto innovators, and we’re bringing them back into the USA where they belong,” he told the audience, per Fox News.
As Trump welcomed the folks who are actively lining his pockets, protesters stood outside the gates of the Trump National Golf Club, denouncing the event as evidence of corruption and demanding the full guest list be released, according to the New York Times. Democrats have launched several efforts to force the President (and other politicians) to divest from cryptocurrency so they cannot use their office to profit through promotions like this. But until one of those bills actually goes somewhere, it seems like there are still plenty of people out there willing to give Trump money in exchange for little more than clout (and maybe a pardon down the line, if needed).
