Trump's Crypto Dinner Guests Admit They're Trying to Buy Him Off
Incredibly unsurprising news: The people who paid millions of dollars to get into Trump's lavish cryptocurrency dinner did soto directly influence the president's financial policy in their favor.
'I will definitely not hesitate to share my perspective,' Vincent Liu, CIO of Taiwanese-based crypto firm Kronos Research, who bought enough Trump's crypto to attend the dinner Thursday night, told The New York Times. 'It's great to see the current direction that everything's going.'
'It's kind of a fund-raiser' for Mr. Trump, Korean crypto executive Sangrok Oh and another dinner attendee, told the Times. 'And he'll always be good to his sponsors.'
The dinner was held at Trump's private golf club in northern Virginia on Thursday evening for the top 220 holders of the president's memcoin cryptocurrency—after an auction that brought in $147,586,796.41. Protesters lined the entrance to the building, chanting 'shame, shame, shame!' and other holding up signs while attendees arrived.
The event was promoted as the 'most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world,' according to an email. While the top 220 buyers got into the gala, the top 25 buyers received much more personal, 'ultra-exclusive private VIP reception' and 'Special VIP Tour' with Trump, allowing them unfettered access to the president.
There were also some other high profile attendees there (with much smaller pockets than the likes of Liu and Oh). Embattled former NBA player and reality TV star Lamar Odom posted a video on X of himself walking into the event while boos and jeers rained down on him from the crowd.
'I'm just about to pass through security and officially walk into the Trump Gala.
Honestly… I'm fired up. Think about it—what meme coin has ever done this?' Odom wrote on X, plugging his own memecoin as well. '$ODOM isn't just a token, it's taking the stage at a presidential gala tonight!'
Trump's cryptocurrency has been widely condemned as a blatant conflict of interest that completely blurs the lines between executive power and private business.
'Donald Trump's dinner is an orgy of corruption. That's what this is all about,' Senator Elizabeth Warren said that evening. 'Donald Trump is using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto, and he's doing it right out there in plain sight. He is signaling to anyone who wants to ask for a special favor—and is willing to pay for it—exactly how to do that.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
9 minutes ago
- CNBC
Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' clears key Senate hurdle after high drama
The Senate on Saturday cleared a key procedural hurdle to advance President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," bringing the massive spending legislation one step closer to passage after weeks of painstaking negotiations. The Senate vote delivered a boost for Republican Majority Leader John Thune's bid to get the bill to Trump's desk by July 4. But it was not without drama. The vote on the motion to proceed was open for hours on Saturday night, and only passed after three Republican holdouts gave in and voted yes. The hours of uncertainty underscored the tricky path forward for the massive package. The procedural vote tees up a final vote on the megabill in the Senate likely sometime Sunday or Monday. Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are forcing the 940-page bill to be read out loud once it heads to full debate on the Senate floor Sunday. "We will be here all night if that's what it takes to read it," Schumer wrote Saturday on X. While the package cannot officially pass the upper chamber until the final vote, the procedural vote was considered a big test for Thune. The vote comes after weeks of turmoil and tension over the massive package that exposed bitter policy disputes and emboldened some firm Republican holdouts. The sweeping domestic policy package will also have to be passed again in the House, which just narrowly passed its own version of the bill last month. Some House Republicans have already expressed opposition to key elements of the Senate version of the bill — most notably deep cuts to Medicaid — likely foreshadowing a close vote in the lower chamber. Both Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson hold narrow majorities in their respective chambers, meaning they can only afford to lose the support of a small number of Republican lawmakers to pass the package in a party-line vote. Meanwhile, Trump continues to urge lawmakers to get the package passed before Republicans' self-imposed July 4 deadline. "President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal," the White House said in a statement of administration policy on Saturday. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Steel buyout gives Trump a new power: What about future presidents?
President Donald Trump will control the so-called 'golden share' that's part of the national security agreement under which he allowed Japan-based Nippon Steel to buy out American steelmaker US Steel. That's according to disclosures filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The provision gives the president the power to appoint a board member and have a say in company decisions that affect domestic steel production and competition with overseas producers. Under the provision, Trump — or someone he designates — controls that decision-making power while he is president. However, control over those powers reverts to the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department when anyone else is president, according to the filings. The White House responded in a statement that the share is 'not granted to Trump specifically, but to whoever the president is". Officials were asked why Trump will directly control the decision-making and why it goes to the Treasury and Commerce departments under future presidents. Still, the wording of the provision is specific to Trump. It lists what decisions cannot be made without 'the written consent of Donald J. Trump or President Trump's Designee' at 'any time when Donald J. Trump is serving as President of the United States of America' or 'at any other time, the written consent of the CMAs', a contractual term for the Treasury and Commerce departments. Nippon Steel's nearly $15 billion buyout of Pittsburgh-based US Steel became final last week, making US Steel a wholly-owned subsidiary. Trump has sought to characterise the acquisition as a "partnership" between the two companies after he at first vowed to block the deal — as former President Joe Biden did on his way out of the White House — before changing his mind after he became president. Related Nippon Steel finalises US Steel takeover after state opposition President Trump orders review into Nippon Steel's bid for US Steel The national security agreement became effective 13 June and is between Nippon Steel, as well as its American subsidiary, and the federal government, represented by the departments of Commerce and Treasury, according to the disclosures. The complete national security agreement hasn't been published publicly, although aspects of it have been outlined in statements and securities filings made by the companies, US Steel said Wednesday. The pursuit by Nippon Steel dragged on for a year and a half, weighed down by national security concerns, opposition by the United Steelworkers, and presidential politics in the premier battleground state of Pennsylvania, where US Steel is headquartered. The combined company will become the world's fourth-largest steelmaker in an industry dominated by Chinese companies, and bring what analysts say is Nippon Steel's top-notch technology to US Steel's antiquated steelmaking processes. That's on top of a commitment to invest $11bn to upgrade US Steel facilities. The potential that the deal could be permanently blocked forced Nippon Steel to sweeten the deal. That included upping its capital commitments in US Steel facilities and adding the golden share provision, giving Trump a veto power on specific matters and the right to appoint an independent director. Those matters include reductions in Nippon Steel's capital commitments in the national security agreement; changing US Steel's name and headquarters; closing or idling US Steel's plants; transferring production or jobs outside of the US; buying competing businesses in the US; and certain decisions on trade, labour and sourcing outside the US.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nike stock price: Why shares are rising despite the shoe giant's revenue decline and serious tariff warning
Shares in Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) are trading much higher this morning after the company announced its Q4 2025 results. Yet those results saw Nike post some of its worst earnings in a while, along with a warning that President Trump's tariffs would cost the company $1 billion in the near term. He was buried in a mushroom casket. Soon he'll be part of the soil CEO of an $11 billion builder empire warns that these housing markets face a short-term oversupply Lifting the veil on the critical—and oft-times overlooked—factors driving AI growth Here's what you need to know about Nike's latest earnings and why the stock is up. Yesterday, the iconic shoemaker announced its Q4 2025 and full-year fiscal 2025 earnings. The results weren't great. For fiscal 2025, Nike reported full-year revenues of $46.3 billion—a 10% decline from fiscal 2024. The company's Q4 2025 revenues totaled $11.1 billion—down 12% from the same quarter a year earlier. The company also posted an earnings per share of 14 cents for its Q4. That EPS was down significantly from the 99 cents the company posted in the same quarter a year earlier. However, perhaps most alarming was the fact that Nike confirmed it would take a $1 billion hit in its current 2026 fiscal year due to the tariffs imposed by President Trump on countries worldwide. The two countries where Nike makes a significant amount of its goods are China and Vietnam. Earlier this year, Trump placed a 46% tariff on goods manufactured in Vietnam and a triple-digit rate on goods made in China. He later reduced both rates, temporarily, to 10% and 30% respectively. Still, Nike chief financial officer Matt Friend said on Nike's earnings call that the tariffs currently in place will result in a 'new and meaningful' cost to Nike, notes CNBC, adding that the company estimates that 'a gross incremental cost increase to Nike of approximately $1 billion.' You would think that Nike's warning of up to $1 billion in tariff-related costs and its pretty dismal Q4 results would send the stock down, not up. But NKE stock is currently up, and significantly, as of the time of the writing. In premarket trading, NKE shares are currently up over 10% to $68.85. There are a few likely reasons for this. First is that, while Nike's Q4 wasn't anything to write home about, the company actually came in above most Wall Street estimates. Analysts had expected Nike to have a pretty poor quarter already, and indeed, as noted by CNBC, Nike had previously said its Q4 would be the low point of its turnaround. This turnaround involves Nike's pivot to return its focus to athletes and shift away from its recent history of trying to cater to the wider 'lifestyle' segment of the population. The turnaround was initiated after Nike brought in a new CEO, Elliott Hill, last October. For its Q4, analysts had been expecting revenue of $10.72 billion and an EPS of 13 cents. So though Nike's Q4 results were disappointing, especially compared to earlier quarters, its actual revenue of $11.1 billion and adjusted EPS of 14 cents came in above expectations—something investors typically reward. But another reason the stock is likely rising in premarket trading is also related to that $1 billion hit Nike is expecting. Though the company says it expects the 10-figure hit this financial year, CFO Matt Friend also said Nike expects to 'fully mitigate' Trump's tariff costs over time. Nike will mitigate these tariff costs by using a three-pronged approach: adjusting its supply chain sources getting its suppliers to absorb some of the costs raising prices on U.S consumers later this year Despite Nike's 10% price surge this morning, shares in the company are still down significantly for the year. As of yesterday's close, Nike shares were sitting at $62.54—down more than 17% for the year. However, that was still significantly above its April lows of nearly $52 per share after President Trump unleashed his 'Liberation Day' tariffs on the world. Over the past 12 months, Nike's shares were down more than 33% as of yesterday's close. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
