President Donald Trump is being slammed by critics for hosting a dinner Thursday night for cryptocurrency investors of his personal memecoin. They argue the multi-million dollar dinner crosses ethical lines by providing access to the presidency in exchange for investing his family business.
The dinner is being hosted at Trump’s golf club in Virginia for the top 220 buyers of the president’s memecoin, called $TRUMP. The top 25 will get a more personal cocktail reception and a tour of the White House. In total, they’ve all invested $148 million in Trump’s memecoin.
While the dinner may be legal, ethics experts, Democrats, and a few Republicans, say it is entirely unethical. Even some of the crypto investors attending the dinner have said they hope to get an opportunity to press Trump on crypto policies, reports the New York Times.
“The president is not focused on improving the lives of everyday Americans. The corruption is clear and cruel,” U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., told theGrio in reaction to Trump’s crypto dinner.
Trump’s dinner happens to also take place on the same day that Republicans advanced the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which is packed with many of the president’s budget and policy priorities, including major tax cuts that experts say will mostly benefit the rich.
“He’s auctioning off dinners for the purposes of self-enrichment, pushing tax cuts for his friends and the wealthiest amongst us, selling access to the U.S. government, and taking a victory lap on a budget bill that cuts to medical coverage and food benefits for the working poor,” said Simon.
“Nowhere is Trump’s blatant disregard and disrespect for the rule of law more apparent than in the way he has exploited the office of the Presidency to promote shady, fraudulent crypto ventures that hold no real value, and serve no true purpose other than to pad his pockets,” said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who introduced the “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act of 2025.”
The bill would strictly regulate a president, vice president, members of Congress and their immediate families and their ability to own and trade digital assets.
“Trump’s crypto con is not just a scam to target investors. It’s also a dangerous backdoor for selling influence over American policies to the highest foreign bidder,” said Congresswoman Waters, who is the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. “Enough is enough. Congress can no longer ignore the biggest scam and abuse of power in American history.”
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, a co-sponsor of the crypto regulation bill, who clashed with Trump during the president’s State of the Union address in March, said Trump’s second term so far has “brought corruption in this country to new heights.”
“Nothing illustrates this more than President Trump’s meme coin. This bill is absolutely vital to ensure that future public servants and their families do not repeat President Trump’s ignominious example,” said Green.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said President Trump is “shamelessly abusing the Presidency,” and said the “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act of 2025” is necessary to “put a stop to President Trump’s digital assets scams that pad his own pockets at the expense of hardworking American families.”
Trump’s presidency hasn’t been rolling in dough only for his personal pockets. So far, he’s also helped raise $600 million in campaign fundraising since entering office, according to the Associated Press. The president is reportedly aiming to raise $1 billion ahead of next year’s midterm elections in an effort to keep Republican control of Congress and continue his legislative agenda for the remainder of his second and final term in office.
However, as the AP reports: “Any money left over after his term could help him maintain enormous influence over the Republican Party, cementing his status as its most influential kingmaker — and potential patron — through 2028 and beyond.”
