
A special VIP tour of the White House or even an exclusive dinner with President Donald Trump can be yours – for a price.
The Trump-owned company that unveiled the president’s official meme coin just before his inauguration announced Wednesday that top holders of the cryptocurrency would be selected to attend a private dinner with the MAGA leader, Mother Jones reported Wednesday. The 25 leading buyers, meanwhile, will be treated to a special VIP White House tour.
“According to the coin’s official website, its top 220 holders will be invited to a special May 22 dinner at Trump’s country club outside Washington, DC,” the Mother Jones report said.
“An even more special perk is in store for the 25 biggest holders, who ‘will be invited for an ultra-exclusive private VIP Reception with the President. And separately by us to a Special White House Tour,’” it added, noting that the coin’s website was riddled with grammatical mistakes.
While the news caused the price of the meme coin to surge more than 50%, according to media reports, an ethics expert criticized the move as “a naked quid pro quo.”
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“The closest situation I can think of was Bill Clinton hosting major donors in the Lincoln Bedroom, but that pales in comparison to this, said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for the government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, told Mother Jones.
“This is about as unethical as you can get—essentially selling off access to the president and the White House,” he added.
While Libowitz slammed the action as unethical, he said it likely wasn’t illegal.
“There are, unfortunately, no laws that apply to the president that could be violated here, unless one of the top 25 holders was something like a foreign state’s wealth fund,” he said. Separately, Libowitz cautioned Mother Jones that “any staffer involved in selling access to the White House may have some issues.”