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The Big Story

Democrats take aim at Trump meme coin dinner

President Trump is set to host a private dinner Thursday night with the top investors in his meme coin, who spent millions of dollars to secure a spot at the exclusive event, fueling Democratic accusations of corruption.

More than 200 investors in $TRUMP will dine with the president at his golf club outside of Washington, D.C., in what Democratic lawmakers have alleged is a “pay-to-play scheme” effectively selling access to Trump.

“There is a big ‘For Sale’ sign on the White House lawn,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said at a press conference Thursday. “U.S. policy for sale.”

“Anyone who thinks those 220 people who are attending the dinner tonight who paid about $150 million for those seats just really craved to have a digital equivalent of a baseball trading card, well, you’re a little off the mark,” he continued. “They absolutely want to buy influence over U.S. policy.”

Trump launched his meme coin shortly before his inauguration. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies typically based on internet trends that have no inherent value, often making them highly volatile assets.

The token almost immediately drew scrutiny, prompting concerns that it could be used to buy influence with the president.

$TRUMP even received pushback from within the crypto industry, as some worried it could derail the president’s efforts to pass long-sought digital asset legislation.

However, the announcement of the dinner last month, which urged investors to load up on $TRUMP to secure one of 220 spots at the “intimate private dinner,” has sparked a new level of backlash.

“Donald Trump’s dinner is an orgy of corruption,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday. “That’s what this is all about. We are here today to talk about exactly one topic, corruption, corruption in its ugliest form.”

“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,” she added. “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.”

The White House has pushed backed on these allegations, arguing that Trump is attending the event in his personal time and abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws.

“The president has been asked about this, he has addressed this. I have also stated previously from this podium that the president is abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

“And I think everybody, the American public, believes it is absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency,” she continued.

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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Technology

Technology

Democrats take aim at Trump meme coin dinner

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