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Donald Trump hosted a dinner for investors in his meme coin on Thursday, as critics warned the US president was putting personal profit first.

Some 220 of the biggest investors in the $TRUMP meme coin descended on the exclusive dinner at Mr Trump’s private country club in Northern Virginia.

As the US president arrived, more than a hundred protesters at the Trump National Golf Club held signs that included “America is not for sale”, “stop crypto corruption” and “release the list”.

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren described the dinner, where the US president spoke for about half an hour before dancing to the song YMCA, as an “orgy of corruption”.

US President Donald Trump leaves the White House to attend his own meme coin gala.
Pic: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
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Donald Trump leaves the White House to attend his own meme coin gala. Pic: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein

Access to the dinner, and the president, was earned by purchasing enough of his $TRUMP meme coin to secure a seat.

The White House insisted Mr Trump would attend the event “in his personal time”, but the lectern he stood behind had the presidential seal.

NBC News reported that during his remarks, Mr Trump did not unveil any new crypto policies but spoke in support of a potential bitcoin reserve and then left promptly afterward.

In total, investors spent an estimated $148m (£110m), with the top 25 holders of the coin spending more than $111m (£82.56m), according to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital.

A company controlled by the Trump family, and a second firm, hold 80% of the remaining $TRUMP coins and have so far earned $320.19m (£238.14m), including at least $1.35m (£1m) after the dinner announcement, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

‘Trump a very successful businessman,’ says White House

According to blockchain analysis, more than half of the 220 holders who attended the black-tie event are likely based outside the US.

This has led to claims the US president has auctioned off access to himself to foreign investors for personal gain.

In response to criticisms about Mr Trump using his office to enrich himself from the meme coin, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “All of the president’s assets are in a blind trust, which is managed by his children.

“And I would argue, one of the many reasons that the American people re-elected this president back to this office is because he was a very successful businessman before giving it up to publicly serve our country.”

Demonstrators gather outside Trump National Golf Course ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meme coin gala.
Pic: Reuters
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Protesters gather outside Trump National Golf Course ahead of the dinner.
Pic: Reuters

President Donald Trump arrives on the South Lawn of the White House after attending the crypto dinner.
Pic: AP/John McDonnell
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Trump arrives back at White House after attending the crypto dinner. Pic: AP/John McDonnell

Who was on the guest list?

One of those attending was China-born crypto entrepreneur and billionaire Justin Sun.

He won first place in the dinner contest with his $18.5m (£13.76m) wallet of the Trump meme coin and is the largest publicly known investor in the family’s crypto platform – which has made them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mr Sun posted videos of himself visiting parts of the White House complex on Wednesday, and on Thursday of Mr Trump at the dinner event.

In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission paused a 2023 fraud case against him, citing public interest.

Demonstrators protest near Trump National Golf Club before the arrival of the president. 
Pic: AP/Rod Lamkey Jr
Image:
Demonstrators protest near Trump National Golf Club before the arrival of the president.
Pic: AP/Rod Lamkey Jr

However, the identities of the majority of the coin holders attending the event remain unknown.

Of those going, one was simply known as Ogle, a crypto security specialist who appears in video interviews with his face covered by a bandana and sunglasses.

He says this is to protect his identity.

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Even some pro-Trump crypto voices worried his personal involvement may hurt efforts to establish credibility.

“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” said Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at the crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures.

“We would much rather that he passes common sense legislation and leave it at that.”

The event was capped off with an after-party, called “Meme The Night,” thrown by a Singapore-based meme-coin engagement company called MemeCore.

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Why did Trump drop the F-bomb?

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Why did Trump drop the F-bomb?

Donald Trump has lashed out at both Israel and Iran – clearly frustrated after both sides exchanged missiles despite a ceasefire being declared.

For now though, a cessation of hostilities has held, with Israel saying its operation is now over.

The US president is now in The Netherlands for the NATO summit, and received a gushing text from Secretary-General Mark Rutte while en route.

US Correspondents James Matthews and Mark Stone discuss the latest.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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Leaks plunge success of ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ into serious doubt

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Leaks plunge success of 'Operation Midnight Hammer' into serious doubt

There is a critical question hanging over the events of the past few days.

Behind the chest-thumping from Donald Trump, and the bewilderment beyond at his statecraft-by-social-media, doubts have now reached fever pitch about the success of the American bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Leaks from the US Defence Department suggest the bunker busting bombs dropped on Iran’s three nuclear enrichment sites might only have set the country’s nuclear capabilities back by months.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a meeting alongside Vice President J.D. Vance in the Situation Room at the White House

“We were assuming that the damage was going to be much more significant than this assessment is finding,” said one of three sources, speaking to NBC News.

“This assessment is already finding that these core pieces are still intact. That’s a bad sign for the overall programme.”

NBC News has spoken to three sources – all of whom say that the initial assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency has concluded that the US airstrikes were not as effective as Mr Trump claimed.

Similar leaks were made to The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN.

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Why did Trump lash out at Iran and Israel?

Responding to the CNN leak, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community.”

She continued: “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear programme. Everyone knows what happens when you drop 14 30,000lb bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”

In his address to the nation on Saturday night, Mr Trump had said: “I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

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Trump: Iran strikes ‘spectacular success’

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has also dismissed the leaks, saying: “Based on everything we have seen – and I’ve seen it all – our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.

“Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target – and worked perfectly.”

“The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran, so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the president and the successful mission.”

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Iran’s nuclear capabilities

Battle Damage Assessments (BDAs) take a long time to be close to conclusive and require extensive intelligence analysis.

Speaking to Sky News, former director of the CIA and top US General David Petraeus cautioned about drawing any conclusions at this stage.

“Well, the truth is, it is just too soon. And those who are leaking should know that it takes a long time to do the battle damage assessment. And those who have actually pushed back in very conclusive ways also probably should have wait for the full results,” Gen Petraeus said.

“This is a very painstaking process. It’s an effort by the overall intelligence community, not just Defence Intelligence Agency. In fact, the CIA would be the lead in this effort to mine all sources of intelligence, imagery, intelligence of all types, signals, cyber, even open-source intelligence.”

Read more analysis:
There’s one F word Trump fears most
Can Tehran regard Trump as trusted broker of peace?

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Trump’s ‘ripping up the rule book’

Beyond the debate over the extent of the damage, questions remain over whether Iran might have managed to move equipment including centrifuges. Critically too, the whereabouts of about 400kg of highly enriched uranium is unknown.

The classified assessment of the military’s operation in Iran has been transmitted to Congress and has been viewed by some senators in a secure location, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

“I’ve reviewed the classified material,” Democratic Party Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said.

“I’m a little bit disappointed that my colleagues went and looked at it and mainly started talking about it publicly. That’s not we’re supposed to do with a classified report,” he added.

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Iran ‘not at all’ thankful for Trump

Speaking on Sunday to NBC’s Meet The Press, Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon insisted Iran’s nuclear capability had been dramatically set back.

“I think it’s still very early to jump into conclusions. We have to wait for the assessment. I can tell you one thing for sure. If you look where Iran was 12 days ago and where they are today, you understand that both Israel and the US were able to degrade the capabilities, push them back decades, and if we had an imminent threat, it doesn’t exist anymore.”

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Donald Trump’s four-letter fury is a reminder there’s one F word he fears most

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Donald Trump's four-letter fury is a reminder there's one F word he fears most

Failure – it’s the F word Donald Trump fears most.

Hence the early morning rant from a president, F for frustrated.

The day before had seen head-spinning developments in which a ceasefire between Israel and Iran turned on a Truth Social post.

If it felt fragile, that’s how it appeared overnight. There were exchanges between both sides beyond the deadline, and the president woke frustrated.

An unlikely diplomatic result looked exactly that.

Donald Trump speaks to media ahead of boarding Marine One to depart to attend the NATO Summit in The Hague. Pic: Reuters
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Donald Trump lashed out at Iran and Israel before boarding a flight to Europe on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters

Trump’s four-lettered fury was aimed primarily at Israel, which on Tuesday morning gave the appearance of an ally that had reeled him into the fight and wasn’t letting go.

It also leant into doubts around Trump’s influence over Israeli actions.

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If this process is heading towards nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, Trump doesn’t need questions surrounding his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Tehran needs to believe Trump can tighten the leash.

It will have been comforted by his remarks on board Air Force One, from where he called Netanyahu.

Speaking to the travelling media, Trump said he didn’t want to see regime change in Iran, having floated support for the idea last week.

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Israel’s prime minister’s office issued a statement that spoke of having “achieved all the war’s objectives”.

The wording speaks to a move beyond aggression.

Time will tell, and this ceasefire feels fragile still, but it’ll do for Trump for now, the self-styled peacemaker making peace one social media post at a time.

He is strengthened by the success of his diplomacy, a fact laid bare – where else? – on Truth Social.

Read more:
How much damage did the US inflict on Iran?
Can Tehran trust Trump as a broker of peace?

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on his way to The Hague, to join world leaders gathering in the Netherlands for a two-day NATO summit. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Trump boarding Air Force One to travel to Europe on Tuesday. Pic: AP

As he flew towards the NATO summit, Trump posted a message from the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte.

It’s unclear if Rutte knew it would be published, but it’s abundantly clear he’s a man with lips puckered as the US president swaggers towards the gathering.

Referring to NATO countries’ commitment to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP, he wrote: “Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe and the world.

“You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.”

The effusive praise speaks to power enhanced for the US president as he prepares to attend the NATO gathering.

His stature is reinforced by his most recent result… as long as it lasts.

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