Trump Crime Family: Trump Auctions White House Tour With $TRUMP Meme Cryptocurrency

Apr 24, 2025 11:11 PM EDT, Thu

Trump extends rare White House opportunity to those who buy his meme coin

An official who oversaw crypto policy for the SEC said of Team Trump’s latest gambit, “They are making the pay-to-play deal explicit.”

April 24, 2025, 2:17 PM EDT By Steve Benen

As Donald Trump’s second term got underway, the president made clear that he intended to profit — or at least try to profit — from cryptocurrencies, creating unprecedented ethical controversies. As the Republican approaches his 100-day mark, the morass is vastly worse. The New York Times reported:

The flashy online announcement called it “the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World,” a chance to have “an intimate private dinner” with President Trump at his members-only golf club in Virginia, followed by a tour of the White House. A seat would be reserved for each of the top 220 investors in TRUMP, a cryptocurrency that Mr. Trump launched on the eve of his inauguration. … “Have Dinner with President Trump and the $TRUMP Community!” the invitation said. “Let the President know how many TRUMP coins YOU own!”

What we’re dealing with is a relatively straightforward proposition: A website promoting one of the president’s crypto offerings announced that those who purchased his meme coin would have a chance to dine with Trump and get a White House tour.

The Times’ report described this as “an astonishing escalation of the Trump family’s efforts to profit from crypto,” adding that, for all intents and purposes, Trump’s business partners were offering White House and presidential access “in exchange for an investment” in one of Trump’s ventures.

Corey Frayer, who oversaw crypto policy for the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Biden administration, told the Times, “This is really incredible. They are making the pay-to-play deal explicit.”

The White House declined to comment, which made sense, given that it’d be awfully difficult to come up with some kind of defense for this.

In case anyone needs a refresher as to how we arrived at this point, the trouble began in earnest in January. With just three days remaining before his presidential inauguration, Trump found time to launch one last post-election grift: Without explanation or defense, the Republican and his family started selling a cryptocurrency token. (Two days later, first lady Melania Trump apparently got in on the game, launching a “coin” of her own.)

While the president’s many merchandising opportunities have been difficult to keep up, this latest endeavor was arguably the most outrageous — in part because of the rather obvious conflict of interest related to the Securities and Exchange Commission and in part because of the brazenness of Trump’s profiteering.

The Campaign Legal Center’s Adav Noti explained soon after, “It is literally cashing in on the presidency — creating a financial instrument so people can transfer money to the president’s family in connection with his office. It is beyond unprecedented.”

What was to stop a foreign government, eager to bribe the American president, from quietly dumping money into Trump’s crypto project, effectively making direct payments to the president without public disclosure? Nothing.

The day after being sworn into office, Trump continued to use his social media platform to promote his controversial meme coin. In the weeks that followed, his efforts continued. In late January, the president wrote online,, “I LOVE $TRUMP!!” In March, adopting the writing style of a tween, Trump published a follow-up item that read, “I LOVE $TRUMP — SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The brazenness, however, continues to reach new depths.

As Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut recently noted in an unrelated matter, “Just because the corruption plays out in public doesn’t mean it’s not corruption.”

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

If It’s The Weekend, Find Trump On One Of His Golf Courses

Where Trump Can Be Found On Weekends
Mar-a-Lago
The Mar-a-Lago Club 1100 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, Florida 33480 +1 (561) 832-2600
Florida, West Palm Beach
Trump International Golf Club 3505 Summit Blvd West Palm Beach FL 33406 +1 (561) 682-0700
Florida, Miami
Trump National Doral Golf Club 4400 N.W. 87th Ave Miami, FL 33178 +1 (305) 592-2000
Florida, Jupiter
Trump National Jupiter Golf Club 115 Eagle Tree Terrace Jupiter FL 33477 +1 (561) 691-8700
Virginia, Potomac Falls
Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. 20391 Lowes Island Blvd Potomac Falls, VA 20165 +1 (703) 444-4801
New Jersey, Bedminster
Trump National Golf Club Bedminster 900 Lamington Road Bedminster, NJ 07921 +1 (908) 470-4400
New Jersey, Colts Neck
Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck One Trump National Blvd Colts Neck, NJ 07722 +1 (561) 973-1550
New Jersey, Pine Hill
Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia 500 West Branch Ave. Pine Hill, NJ 08021 +1 (856) 435-3100
New York, Hopewell Junction
Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley 178 Stormville Rd Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 +1 (845) 223-1600
New York, Briarcliff Manor
Trump National Golf Club Westchester 100 Shadow Tree Lane Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 +1 (914) 944-0900
California, Los Angeles
Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles One Trump National Drive Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275 +1 (310) 265-5000
North Carolina, Mooresville
Trump National Golf Club Charlotte 120 Trump Square Mooresville, NC 28117 +1 (704) 799-7300
Dubai
Trump International Golf Club Dubai DAMAC Hills Al Hebiah Third District Dubai +971 (0) 4 245 3939
Ireland, Clare
Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, Doonbeg DOONBEG CO. CLARE, IRELAND Phone: +353 65 905 5600
Scotland, Aberdeenshire
Trump MacLeod House & Lodge Scotland Menie Estate Balmedie Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB23 8YE Phone: +44 1358 743300 Reserve: +44 1358 743300
Scotland, Ayrshire
Trump Turnberry Maidens Road KA26 9LT Turnberry Ayrshire Scotland +44.1655.331.000 +44 01655 334115

Lodging
Florida, Miami
Trump® National Doral Miami 4400 N.W. 87th Avenue Miami, Florida 33178 Phone: +1 305 592 2000 Reserve: +1 800 713 6725 doral.reservations@trumphotels.com
Illinois, Chicago
Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago 401 N. Wabash Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60611 Phone: +1 312 588 8000 Reserve: +1 855 878 6700 tch_inquiries@trumphotels.com
Nevada, Los Vegas
Trump® International Hotel Las Vegas 2000 Fashion Show Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 Phone: +1 702 982 0000 Reserve: +1 866 939 8786 lasvegas.info@trumphotels.com
New York, New York
Trump International Hotel & Tower® New York 1 Central Park West New York, New York 10023 Phone: +1 212 299 1000 Reserve: +1 888 448 7867 newyork.info@trumphotels.com
Virginia, Charlottesville
Albemarle Estate at Trump Winery 355 Albemarle House Drive Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 Phone: +1 434 977 4001 Reserve: +1 855 878 6700 reservations@trumpwinery.com
Ireland, Doonbeg
Trump International Golf Links and Hotel® Ireland, Doonbeg Co. Clare, Ireland Phone: +353 65 905 5600 Reserve: +1 844 366 6234 doonbeg.reservations@trumphotels.com
Scotland, Aberdeenshire
Trump MacLeod House & Lodge, Scotland Balmedie Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB23 8YE Phone: +44 1358 743300 Reserve: +44 1358 743300 bookings@trumpgolfscotland.com

Trump Crime Family: Trump Auctions White House Tour With $TRUMP Meme Cryptocurrency

Trump extends rare White House opportunity to those who buy his meme coin

If It’s The Weekend, Find Trump On One Of His Golf Courses

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