Trump defies ethics warnings with private meme coin dinner
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The president hosted a highly anticipated "exclusive" dinner for the largest holders of his meme coin, Official Trump, at his golf club in Virginia on Thursday night.
Why it matters: Fight Fight Fight, LLC — a company linked to President Trump's family — sold a digital token that gave anyone in the world a chance to pay for a night of access to the commander-in-chief.
- The promotion has stunned ethics experts. One Democrat called it "the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the White House."
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied any conflicts of interest but refused to release the list of attendees, telling reporters: "The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner."
Between the lines: Wealthy donors have long used campaign contributions to gain access to elected officials — but with key guardrails and oversight.
- U.S. law bars foreign money and prohibits politicians from using campaign funds for personal gain.
What they're saying: "We've never had a president actually try to raise money and get people to buy an interest in a venture of his at the same time that he's sitting in the White House," Richard Painter, President George W. Bush's ethics lawyer, told Politico.
- Democrats have proposed at least five bills that would block activity like this, but none of them are likely to see action in a GOP-controlled Congress.
- As Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D.-NY) points out, there are already laws against this kind of thing — but enforcement of those rules is murky, especially with Trump loyalists in charge.
By the numbers: Inca Digital, a data intelligence firm, estimates that the top 220 holders collectively spent more than $140 million to ensure they got a spot in the meme coin celebration.
- The most spent was $16.4 million.
- The contest was announced on April 23 and ran through May 12. To qualify to attend, a wallet owner had to register with Fight Fight Fight, pass a background check, and hold a high enough average amount of Official Trump over the contest period.
- The token had lost considerable value since its pre-inauguration release, but it's up more than 50% since the dinner was announced.
State of play: That price increase has held even after the contest ended, suggesting that holders might expect more perks or access ahead.
The intrigue: Only a few attendees were known ahead of time. Crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who at one point was under investigation by the SEC, is probably the best known.
- Kain Warwick, an Australian crypto investor and creator of the decentralized finance platform, Synthetix, told the New York Times that he had a spot.
- So did the meme coin startup MemeCore, which acquired a massive stockpile in order to send someone to the event.
How it works: Other buyers haven't been publicizing their attendance, but blockchain analysis suggested that much of the buying was happening outside the U.S., according to an analysis by Bloomberg.
What we're watching: Fight Fight Fight still controls 80% of the supply of Official Trump, which it can sell off over time.
