US President Donald Trump hosted a black-tie dinner for the top 220 buyers of his $TRUMP meme coin on Thursday night despite severe backlash against the event. According to an Independent report, Trump flew to Virginia – the venue – on Marine One and at a lectern emblazoned with the presidential seal. This despite the White House arguing that it was a “private” event that Trump was “attending it in his personal time.”
Who attended Trump’s meme coin dinner?
The dinner at Trump’s Virginia gold club was attended by the 220 biggest buyers of his meme coin. They spend a combined $148 million on the cryptocurrency, reported CNBC.
Guests included crypto influencers, industry bigwigs and former NBA star Lamar Odom. Some of the guests were ultra-wealthy, but others were reportedly more ‘normal’. The dinner was not open to the press.
What happened at Trump’s meme coin dinner?
Trump made a brief appearance and delivered a speech. The guests had food. The top four biggest spenders were presented with gemstone-encrusted watches.
How was the food?
Not good, apparently. TikTok influencer Nicholas Pinto said he was still hungry when he left the gala. “The food sucked,” Pinto said. “Wasn’t given any drinks other than water or Trump’s wine. I don’t drink, so I had water. My glass was only filled once.”
Pinto was invited to the gala after investing $300,000 in $TRUMP. “It was the worst food I’ve ever had at a Trump golf course,” he said. “The only good thing was bread and butter.”
{{/usCountry}}Pinto was invited to the gala after investing $300,000 in $TRUMP. “It was the worst food I’ve ever had at a Trump golf course,” he said. “The only good thing was bread and butter.”
{{/usCountry}}Another guest said the food was “OK, but not top-class.”
Did Trump interact with guests at the gala?
According to Pinto, barely. The US President reportedly spent a grand total of 23 minutes at the gala. “He didn’t talk to any of the 220 guests — maybe the top 25,” said Pinto. He delivered a speech before flying back on his helicopter.
“For the most part, it was just him talking about his campaign, and about how he beat Biden, and blah, blah, blah, how we were in a terrible place with crypto before he got elected and now we’re in a great place,” one guest was quoted as saying by The Verge.
What did the biggest spenders get?
The grand prize for the top four winners was a $100,000 Trump-branded Tourbillon watch. Crypto billionaire Justin Sun bought more than $20 million worth of $TRUMP during the contest and thereby placed first.
He was awarded a Trump-branded Tourbillon watch worth $100,000 during the gala. However, Trump did not hand out the watch himself.
Were there any security concerns?
Plenty. Apparently, security at Trump’s gala was questionable at best. The Verge reported how the vetting process for the gala’s more than 200 guests was a “pretty light” KYC check done by a third party. This gave virtual strangers, including foreigners, an unprecedented degree of proximity to the US president.