In response to Donald Trump hosting a private dinner with buyers of the Trump token, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“While Donald Trump invites foreign nationals to buy favors with the White House and lines his own pockets with crypto scheme money, Republicans in Congress are doing his bidding by passing the largest cuts to food assistance and health care in American history. From Day One, Trump has used his power to enrich himself all while hardworking families drown in bills and struggle to put food on the table. Let’s be clear: Trump is a grifter just looking out for himself and his billionaire backers — not the American people.”

TONIGHT: Donald Trump is set to host a private dinner for his ultra-wealthy meme coin holders.

Bloomberg: “More than half of the top holders of President Donald Trump’s memecoin — who are jockeying for dinner with the president — have used foreign exchanges that say they ban US users, suggesting that many of the purchasers are based outside the US.

“Buyers of the Trump token, a cryptocurrency the president began marketing days before his inauguration, drove sales higher in the past two weeks after its issuers announced an unprecedented promotion: More than 200 of the memecoin’s largest holders would be invited to attend a May 22 dinner with Trump at his Virginia golf club, while the top 25 would qualify for an exclusive reception beforehand and what the memecoin’s website describes as a ‘VIP’ tour.”

Reuters: “Buyers of $TRUMP meme spent $148 million to win dinner with President Trump”

Washington Post: “An affiliate of Trump’s family business, the Trump Organization, runs the meme coin venture alongside a separate Delaware-registered company called Fight Fight Fight …

“Those two entities own 80 percent of the coins, and the drop in value has affected their stake as well. But they have benefited from the coin in other ways, including by imposing 1 percent fees on purchases made through their official crypto transaction system, known as a liquidity pool.” 

NBC News: “Meet the man — once sued by the SEC — who won the crypto contest to have dinner with the president”

“Critics have blasted the dinner contest as potentially unconstitutional and a blatant opportunity for corruption.”

REMINDER: Trump announced a crypto token that allows people to “transfer money to the president’s family in connection with his office,” raising widespread concern among legal ethics experts.

New York Times: “The move by Mr. Trump and his family was immediately condemned by ethics lawyers who said they could not recall a more explicit profiteering effort by an incoming president.

“‘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’ said Adav Noti, executive director of Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit ethics group. ‘It is beyond unprecedented.’”

Politico: “The product launch illustrates the lengths Trump is going to embrace the crypto industry and the blurred ethical lines he may be crossing as he prepares to take office. …

“A president-elect launching a new business product is a highly unusual move, and it is a major concern for ethics watchdogs, who say Trump stands to profit from policy changes he is poised to usher in.

“‘It is absolutely wild,’ said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for communications at the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. ‘After decades of seeing presidents-elect spend the time leading up to inauguration separating themselves from their finances to show that they don’t have any conflicts of interest, we now have a president-elect who, the weekend before inauguration, is launching new businesses along with promises to deregulate … those sectors in a way to just blatantly profit off his own presidency.’”

Many Americans who bought Trump’s meme coin are losing money — while Trump and his billionaire friends profit off them. 

Washington Post: “At least 67,000 new or small-time crypto investors like Davis have bet on Trump’s meme coin, pouring $15 million into the volatile venture endorsed by Trump and benefiting his personal wealth, a Washington Post analysis found. 

“But virtually all of them bought near the coin’s peak, just before the inauguration, and 80 percent of them have seen the value of their holdings nosedive, The Post’s analysis shows. One buyer who spent $10,000 has already lost, on paper, more than $8,000. … 

“The firm [Chainalysis] told The Post that 58 investors have so far made more than $10 million each in profits from the coin, for a total of roughly $1.1 billion — but that 764,000 other investors, most of whom had small holdings, have lost money on the coin. … 

“Three Trump-affiliated wallets have received about $43 million in fees since the coin’s debut, according to a Post analysis of data from Flipside. Those wallets have also made roughly $312 million in crypto sales.”