{"id":1050834,"date":"2025-01-19T15:45:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T20:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1050834"},"modified":"2025-01-19T15:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T20:45:47","slug":"trumps-day-1-priority-scamming-his-own-supporters-to-enrich-himself-not-the-american-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-day-1-priority-scamming-his-own-supporters-to-enrich-himself-not-the-american-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Day 1 Priority: Scamming His Own Supporters to Enrich Himself \u2013 Not the American People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to Donald Trump launching a new cryptocurrency product days before his inauguration, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the eve of his inauguration, Donald Trump is once again focused on the only thing that matters to him: himself. Trump\u2019s newest grift is just the latest example of him using his position to enrich himself and his ultra-wealthy friends at the expense of working people. While Trump is busy reminding Americans that he\u2019s nothing more than a grifter who puts himself and his bank account first at every turn, Democrats are ready to fight back against his toxic pro-billionaire agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: Donald Trump announced a crypto token that allows people to \u201ctransfer money to the president\u2019s family in connection with his office,\u201d raising widespread concern among legal ethics experts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cThe 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018It is literally cashing in on the presidency \u2014 creating a financial instrument so people can transfer money to the president\u2019s family in connection with his office\u2019<\/strong> said Adav Noti, executive director of Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit ethics group. \u2018It is beyond unprecedented.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cThe product launch illustrates<\/strong> 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<\/strong>. …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018It is absolutely wild,\u2019 said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for communications at the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. \u2018After decades of seeing presidents-elect spend the time leading up to inauguration separating themselves from their finances to show that they don\u2019t 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 \u2026 those sectors in a way to just blatantly profit off his own presidency.\u2019<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forbes<\/a>: \u201cThe launch of Trump Coin raises serious ethical questions<\/strong> about the intersection of political power and speculative assets. Unlike traditional Trump-branded ventures, cryptocurrency\u2019s pseudonymous nature means anyone globally can invest without identity checks, potentially creating concerns about undue influence on a sitting president.<\/strong> These concerns echo but potentially amplify similar issues raised around Trump\u2019s other business interests<\/strong>, including Trump Media and Technology Group\u2019s Truth Social platform.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

REMINDER: Trump is a con artist who loves nothing more than to scam the American people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cLast fall, the Trump family helped launch World Liberty Financial, a platform for investors to borrow and lend using cryptocurrencies. The Trump family members are not owners or officers in the company, but they have an agreement to be paid for helping promote it. \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs of November, World Liberty claimed to have at least 20,000 token holders who have bought a stake in what the company calls a \u2018platform inspired by Donald J. Trump.\u2019 <\/strong>These purchases were made even though the tokens \u2014 at least for now \u2014 cannot be resold, meaning they have no immediate value to the buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the purchases, made by individuals whose names are not public, should generate tens of millions of dollars in payments to the Trump family, according to company filings.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Jones<\/a>: \u201cThe meme coin is just the latest in a bizarre line of grifty, super-weird takes on \u2018merch.\u2019<\/strong> Last February, Trump showed off gold \u2018Never Surrender High-Tops\u2019 for $399 at Sneaker Con, which had Fox News applauding his appeal to Black voters. In March, he began endorsing the $59.99 \u2018God Bless the USA Bible,\u2019 which includes the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and handwritten lyrics to the chorus of Lee Greenwood\u2019s \u2018God Bless the USA.\u2019 (Trump\u2019s inaugural committee has confirmed that he will not be using one of these Bibles to swear the presidential oath of office on Monday.) In August, Trump released a new round of his \u2018baseball card\u2019 NFTs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business Insider<\/a>: \u201cFormer President Donald Trump\u2019s campaign might be cash-strapped, but that hasn\u2019t stopped him from hawking merchandise that will benefit him directly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cThis evening [Trump is] expected to join supporters who bought at least 47 Trump NFTs (at $99 each), according to copy of the dinner invitation reviewed by Axios. \u2026 The NFTs are among an array of items Trump has hawked this campaign cycle. He\u2019s also promoted $59.99 Bibles, $399 \u2018Never Surrender\u2019 sneakers and $99 \u2018Victory47\u2019 cologne.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slate<\/a>: \u201cDonald Trump, Grifter Extraordinaire, Is Now Selling Bibles\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABC News<\/a>: \u201cTrump met with boos and chants while selling sneakers in Philadelphia\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cAround the time Trump unveiled his $399 sneakers, he also began selling \u2018Victory 47\u2019 cologne and perfume.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to Donald Trump launching a new cryptocurrency product days before his inauguration, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: \u201cOn the eve of his inauguration, Donald Trump is once again focused on the only thing that matters to him: himself. Trump\u2019s newest grift is just the latest example of him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1050834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s Day 1 Priority: Scamming His Own Supporters to Enrich Himself \u2013 Not the American People - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-day-1-priority-scamming-his-own-supporters-to-enrich-himself-not-the-american-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-19T20:45:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-19T20:45:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-day-1-priority-scamming-his-own-supporters-to-enrich-himself-not-the-american-people\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-day-1-priority-scamming-his-own-supporters-to-enrich-himself-not-the-american-people\/\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s Day 1 Priority: Scamming His Own Supporters to Enrich Himself \u2013 Not the American People - 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