The backlash directed at President Donald Trump and top investors who have bought into his $TRUMP meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency, was fast and furious after an extravagant private gala at his Northern Virginia golf Club Thursday night.
Although the guest list for the event at Trump National Golf Club was secret, the White House refused to release the names of attendees. We know former basketball star and cryptocurrency owner and former NBA player Lamar Odom was there, as was Chinese crypto mogul Justin Sun.
Odom, a former forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, gushed over Trump and the president’s support of the controversial digital tokens that let buyers make payments to each other over an online system.
“For the first time in history, ‘The greatest president’ stands side by side with the most soulful meme coin,” Odom said Friday on the social media platform X, including a picture of himself and Trump giving the thumbs up.
Odom launched his own anti-addiction meme coin, $ODOM, recently on the Solana blockchain. He’s a recognized advocate for addiction recovery and mental health awareness after his own years-long battle with drug addiction.
“I’m not here to hype a coin. I’m Lamar Odom. I am $ODOM. This isn’t just a meme — it’s a consensus I earned with my life. Thanks to President Trump for supporting the meme philosophy,” the former NBA star said.
Protesters gathered outside the club as the wealthy global crypto investors arrived at the exclusive multi-million-dollar event. Tickets reportedly cost as much as $1.8 million a piece. About 100 demonstrators showed up chanting “America is not for sale” and holding signs saying “Trump is a traitor” and “Crypto corruption,” according to NBC News.
A smiling Odom also posted a video as he walked into the event amid the booing protesters. “I’m just about to pass through security and officially walk into the Trump Gala. Honestly… I’m fired up,” Odom said on X. “Tonight, $ODOM ignites the world.”
Comments on his X post ranged from those wanting to get in on the coin, “Please give me a chance to mint,” to those against it, “weird to see you part of the kleptocracy cult,” and “You got booed… Go home, scammer.”
A young cryptocurrency owner, Kendall Davis, who was formerly homeless, attended the swanky dinner. Davis argued with protesters on the way in, disputing that he was a blind supporter of Trump and an advocate for his policies. Davis said the crypto industry has made him a multimillionaire, according to NBC News. And he said the dinner was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine with a sitting president.
“I don’t feel any type of remorse for coming here. My dad is Black. He’s proud of me. My grandma is Black. She’s proud of me. They’re Democrats,” he said. “Nobody in my family has ever ate with the president. Let me say this: If it was Joe Biden or Barack Obama, I would’ve came, too.”
Crypto billionaire Sun, the founder of Tron, who is worth some $8.5 billion, said after the dinner that he was grateful to Trump for holding the event. “As the top holder of $Trump and a proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner by @GetTrump Memes. Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry,” Sun post on the social media platform X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied there were any conflicts of interest in holding the event, but refused to release a guest list. “The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner,” she told reporters, according to Axios.
Axios also reported that data intelligence firm Inca Digital estimated the top 220 $TRUMP meme coin holders spent a collective total of more than $140 million to attend the celebration.
The Trump administration has repeatedly ignored the red flags and the ethics warnings. A company connected to the President’s family, Fight Fight Fight, LLC, which owns 80 percent of the $TRUMP coins, sold them and gave anyone a chance to pay to attend the swanky dinner in exchange for access to a U.S. President.
Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, told USA Today the event was “a stunning public display of corruption: The White House and President Trump are selling access to the government for personal profit.”
Another critic of Trump’s crypto businesses, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, opened an investigation this month and said the dinner is “in effect putting a ‘For Sale’ sign on the White House, USA Today reported. “It’s auctioning off access.”
