Sterling, Virginia \u2013 It was an evening that defied comprehension. A political ritual that did not present itself as such \u2013 and yet contained all the symptoms of power obsession and economic self-empowerment. At Trump National Golf Club, just half an hour from Washington, around 220 people gathered on May 22, 2025, who had bought their proximity to the president with digital coins. $TRUMP, a meme coin without purpose or substance \u2013 except for one: access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside, the rain was pouring. Inside, people laughed, applauded, filet mignon was served. While the wealthy checked in, protesters stood at the entrance holding signs like \u201cStop Crypto Corruption,\u201d \u201cNo Kings,\u201d and \u201cAmerica is not for sale.\u201d Senator Jeff Merkley lost his voice shouting, \u201cThis is the Mount Everest of corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump spoke of common sense in the crypto world. Of the need to change everything. \u201cThe last administration made your lives hell,\u201d he said, and the room erupted in cheers. He promised nothing less than a state-sanctioned revolution of speculative capital \u2013 flanked by a seal that once stood for the integrity of a republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the guests: Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto billionaire who secured the top spot on the invitation list by spending $40 million on $TRUMP coins. Korean and Taiwanese investors had also traveled \u2013 not out of conviction, but in expectation of deregulation. Their business models are global, only the approval is missing: America. And Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What took place here was not a campaign. It was not fundraising. It was monetization in its purest form. The president promoting his own currency. His family profiting from transaction fees. A business model that appears as democracy \u2013 and yet is nothing but transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A company founded specifically for this purpose, called \"Fight, Fight, Fight,\" organized the event. The top buyers were to dine with the president. The top 25 were initially promised a VIP White House tour \u2013 later deleted, once it became clear that government institutions would not go along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The difference from earlier scandals? This one is no scandal. It is method. A system in which proximity to power becomes purchasable, no longer through lobbies, but through wallets. A system that does not privatize the state, but personalizes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And perhaps that is the most disturbing part: how many are willing to pay for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside in the rain, the chants of shame remained. And inside, between lukewarm promises and lukewarm fish, the future was being traded \u2013 with every coin a little further away from the public good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was not the dollar that was at stake that evening. It was the weight of the office that became play money. And with it \u2013 democracy.<\/p>\n
Sterling, Virginia \u2013 Es war ein Abend, der schwer zu fassen war. Ein politisches Ritual, das sich nicht als solches verstand \u2013 und doch alle Symptome von Machtbesessenheit und wirtschaftlicher Selbsterm\u00e4chtigung in sich trug. Im Trump National Golf Club, nur eine halbe Stunde von Washington entfernt, versammelten sich am 22. Mai 2025 rund 220 Menschen, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47,7,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-business","category-topstory","category-trump-s-world"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kaizen-blog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trump-crypto-party.webp?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Rainer Hofmann","author_link":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/en\/author\/admin\/"},"yoast_head":"\n