‘Grift, grift, and grift’: Steele blasts Trump for earning $1.4B+ on crypto, coin ventures in 2025
By: MS NOW
There seems to be no end in sight to the corruption, incompetence, irresponsibility, etc., of Trump and his administration.
What sort of mind is not outraged by this abysmal human being?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Transcript (by ChatGPT):
Breaking a short time ago, new disclosure from the Office of Government Ethics is shining a new light on just how much Donald Trump is enriching himself while he has been in the White House.
The president reported an astonishing $515 million from the sale of crypto tokens released by World Liberty Financial, along with another $65 million from equity in that company. Add on another $635 million from so-called celebration coins, also known as meme coins, and that, along with a few other income sources, amounts to over $1.4 billion on cryptocurrency and coin ventures, ventures that he gets a direct say in regulating and influencing.
So, guys, if you take a walk by the White House, there is a lot of fencing up because there is a new ballroom under construction. Our president said this about the ballroom that is under construction. I would like to play the tape.
“There’s a magnificent walkway that goes into what will be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world. So we did this, no charge to the taxpayer whatsoever. We’re going to have the finest forum, I believe, anywhere in the world. We didn’t ask for any tax money. We have no taxes. This is taxpayer-free. We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents. There will never be another thing like this, I don’t believe, built from a court standpoint. This is all my money and donors’ money. This is tax-free.”
And Trump did say no taxpayer money would be spent on the ballroom, but contractors’ invoices show otherwise.
From The Washington Post: a detailed project summary prepared for the White House by the contractor more than three weeks before Trump’s comments estimated the total construction cost at $600 million, with more than half coming from taxpayers, according to a copy of the contractor estimate obtained by The Washington Post.
Mr. President, we know that you have over $1.4 billion. Clearly, you can make up the difference, and taxpayers do not have to be on the hook for your ballroom.
That’s all right. That’s what I got. I didn’t see that one coming. That was a good turn, baby. I appreciate that. Yes, write that check. Wondering where this was going.
Yeah, write that check, Mr. President.
Look, the idea that you go out there. We talked a little bit earlier about the $500 million, $600 million no-bid contract, the $16 million no-bid contracts, the no-bid contracts and all this other stuff. “Oh, the American people aren’t paying for this.”
There’s a little thing called ethics. There’s a little thing called the perception of corruption. There’s a little thing called influence peddling.
I remember, as lieutenant governor, I tried to get some supporters of our administration to contribute, not new, but used computers to a high school that was in desperate need of the support. And I was told emphatically that I could not get those donors to do that because of the appearance of impropriety and unethical influence in that regard.
And I respected that. So I went out and made the case in the budget to put the money in for such use.
If this is so important, put the money in the budget and have Congress vote up or down on it. Put it in front of the American people.
But all of this is just this B.S. for Donald Trump to grift, grift, and grift, because that’s all you know how to do. You can’t run the country, but you can run it into the ground. And that’s exactly what this is.
And it’s so unfortunate that we sit back and allow this man to sit in that White House, and allow his kids and his family to take from the American people every damn day.
How the hell do you make $1.4 billion in a year? Come on.
Well, and I don’t think anything illustrates what you just described better than the $635 million that he made from royalties related to these meme coins.
And for our viewers who don’t understand what a meme coin is, I think it’s worth explaining, because it tells that story crystal clear. It’s a type of cryptocurrency that is actually built around a joke, a trend, or a famous face rather than a real product or company.
So this is something that Trump launched ahead of the inauguration on his name recognition alone. And at the end of the day, the buyers of the meme coin, regular citizens, voters, people who might have voted for Trump, mostly lost money.
And that was because the insiders held on to their coin and made money, right? Of course. It’s just staggering. I mean, on every single level, it is.
And we should also say real quickly that the ballroom is a no-bid contract, and they said it was routed through the executive residence. That way, it can be exempt from usual solicitation and competitive bids.
And it’s just that every single loophole they have to enrich themselves, they take.
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It is surreal that our nation is allowing this to happen.
To the point: How is the nation supposed to stop it from happening?
The SCotUS seems to be on board with this corruption. The Congress is basically rubberstamping most of his desires, afraid that they will be primaried. Certainly you cannot be suggesting that someone from within the hand chosen ranks of the President, all circumscribed by the loyalty oath that they swore to become a part of the administration, come to the fore and say something is amiss?
Sounds like we need to close up some loopholes. Just like the "behested payments" loophole here in California. It opens the same sort of doors to grift as Trump is using at the Federal level. What we need is to implore our representatives to close those loopholes or make way for new candidates that will. Acting on insider knowledge is a huge way that many in our government have been enriching themselves, and Trump is simply doubling down on that.
This bait and switch stuff has to end as well. If he said this new ballroom was to be financed by him and his friends, then let's hold his feet to the fire on that. No using the "executive residence" loophole to pass the bill on to the taxpayer. Bust out your checkbook Mr. Trump and do what you promised to do. You aren't a liar now are ya?
What we need to do is impeach and remove Trump. He is far beyond rehabilitation.
There as so many items that one can add to your list of examples, Freewill. This is so out of control, so outrageous, so over-the-top yet no matter what Trump does Congress sits on its thumbs. And the SCotUS has enabled Trump with immunity and backing several of his power grabs (e.g. the partisan/loyalty firing of government employees to replace them with sycophants).
This reads like a movie that might be entitled 'Constitutional Crisis' but it is not a movie ... this is real.
I think in a way, Donald Trump is white nationalists OJ Simpson. Even his fans knew he was guilty, but because black Americans had been treated so unfairly, many thought of the verdict as justified payback. Now, a bunch of bitter white bigots claim they're being treated unfairly so they think their dear Leader should be given a pass even though they know he's fucking guilty as sin.
sounds about right
Indeed, I was talking about appealing to all our other representatives. If they prove to be beyond rehabilitation, then we remove them too at the ballot box.
Perhaps, but we are more likely stuck with him for a couple more years, so let's keep the focus on the grift and the enabling mechanisms we can change, starting ASAP and at all levels of government. If by some miracle we can simply rid ourselves of Trump, do you really believe that will end the grift?
No doubt and Trump is the type to take advantage of every one of the precedents that have been set, and clearly step even beyond those to push the envelop. Let's keep shining the light until folks wake up and put the rails back on the institutions that make such grift and fraud possible and inprosecutable "under the law".
um...
Now, all of the sudden, major media and some politicians are talking about Trumps corruption. It only took the 10 years to catch on.
The far right podcaster Megyn Kelly said she is disturbed by all the grifting and Don Jr and Eric getting rich off grifting the government.
Some of us have seen these things for years.
What is wrong with people?
She, they were too close to the power, addicted to the access and the belief that they mattered.
Now they are all on pod casts and fifth rate "news" stations that still cater to extreme right nonsense.
I suppose, as strange as it seems, that people had to get to a breaking point. That breaking point was apparently a very high bar.
it's easier for R's to justify wealth, but when that wealth becomes excessive due to their perceptions of fairness, envy kicks in ...
.
It will all be viewed by the partisan right as more whining about nothing.
There is 33% of the population of America that just does not buy the truth, no matter how much factuality is backed up by hard data. Some people do not believe hard data.
So the question is not how do we show them that they are wrong in their political and social estimations of our republic. The question is how do we lead them to see that there is another, more fruitful way to spend their tax dollars that will keep America growing and producing more : More teachers, more products, more innovation.
I did not realize he had segued into comedy ala Seth Meyers, John Stewart, and Stephen Colbert.
Just the rumor that Biden may have gotten money from his son's dealings sent MAGA into a tailspin. There were multiple committee investigations over multiple years in the Republican controlled House... What do we hear from them now that Trump is open and brazen about his grift? <crickets>
That's why I hate them. Every single one of them. Yes, that's mean and harsh but that's who I am. I can't stand these people and what they did to my beloved country
Supporting/condoning Trump is despicable.
Beyond that, it is irrational, irresponsible, and unpatriotic.
And of course, when the bill comes due, they're nowhere to be seen. They won't even come here and defend their POS. Of course, even if one showed up, they'd only drop by to troll with some deflection to one of their conspiracy theories about Democrats. Sadly, this is only going to get worse. It's not like cornered animals with little education running on fear and instinct calm down the closer you get to them with the morsel of truth and reality.
I'm going to have a lot of fun with super thumpers and maga vets if their hero attempts to illegally disrupt the midterms.
Trump thinks Americans want him to live the most luxurious life possible. Because he's their retribution.
I think Trump is simply doing what he wants because he believes he can get away with it.
And thus far, he has been largely correct in that regard due to a spineless Congress, a questionable SCotUS, and inexplicable cultish support.
Criminals convinced gullible people not to trust education and the mainstream media and once that was done, told these gullible poorly educated people that the educators and the mainstream media and anyone else that might hold the criminals accountable were actually the criminals. They were able to do this since they had undermined the credibility of basic knowledge and gave as much weight to unfounded conspiracy theory, that 'felt' true to them despite not having any actual evidence to support it, as they did to actual facts taught in school. And thus, we have the origin story of MAGA.
his kids and grandkids will still have to face the music in the near future ...
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Bingo!
that's a lot of stairs for an unhealthy 80 year old man
only if he's ascending them ...
... ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump, ...splat ...
Aw c'mon. Trump has to earn a living somehow, doesn't he? He's very good at what he does.
Let him practice his art in jail.
I'm all for that.
Finger painting with his own feces? Sounds about right for his maturity level....
the incompetent asshole triples his wealth with grift, while he tosses our economy into the toilet, to the detriment of every american ...
Winning!!!
maga!
make ayatollahs great again ...
Donald Trump is like that other Bernie (He Madoff with your money)
Gee, how shocking. Not a single conservative in these comments to defend Trump’s massive graft. Clearly they’re not happy about, but they are powerless over the cult that is in control of their every thought.
if they don't mention it, it never happened ...
Imagine if Obama's daughters ran a multi billion dollar scam pump and dump crypto operation that cheated thousands of Americans?
they're black, so it would be criminal in the eyes of maga ...