I had to pinch myself, twice, but what you’re about to read is from a top tier reliable source, The Guardian, and they are referencing social media accounts. I hit the hot links and there it is. The yous and mes know that Trump’s (both $Melania and $Donald) bitcoin venture(s) is nothing more than a scam. It’s straight out of Wolf Of Wall Street, pump it and dump it penny stock. But evidently some of the MAGAverse is waking up and that is an eye opener.
When Donald Trump announced – three days before assuming the presidency of the United States, and followed shortly by Melania Trump – that he was launching a self-named “meme coin” cryptocurrency, many in the crypto industry were quick to express frustration. Ethics experts were also alarmed.
Among Trump’s base, however, a similar backlash – smaller, more muted, but similarly anguished – has been taking hold.
After a brief bubble as speculators raced to buy them, both Trump coins have mostly plummeted in value. Within the online Maga community – which has a certain degree of overlap with crypto enthusiasts – some feel betrayed by the president’s embrace of what some conservatives view as little better than a penny-stock pump-and-dump scam. […]
“Now, on the cusp of getting some liberalization of crypto regulations in this country, the main thing people are thinking about crypto is, ‘Oh, it’s just a casino for these meme coins,’” Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and cryptocurrency investor, told the New York Post. “It does the opposite of validating us, it makes it look completely unserious.”
Similarly, keyboard Maga warriors who hoped that Trump would stick up for the American little guy are bitterly disappointed that he endorsed a financial scheme that immediately took little guys for a ride.
The new president claimed his coin would “celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!”, but not everyone seems persuaded.
“I wish Trump was more tempered on this,” someone on a conservative Reddit forum despaired after Trump’s coin debuted. “He owns casinos and knows the addiction of gambling.” Another argued that meme coins prey “on the poor and most desperate”.
“Can anyone make a cogent argument in favor of this?” one poster asked. Few did. “This is bad, and looks bad,” one person said.
Others called the Trump token “degrad[ing] to the office of the Presidency”, “a lame money grab”, “a bad idea with a million ways to go wrong and derail his second term”, “shady”, and “kinda gross”. Another added, “This crypto is the most blatant ponzi scheme in history and we are the marks.”
One conservative wrote that their litmus test was “if Biden pulled this shit, how would I feel? … I can’t imagine any other president doing this”.
“The GOP has to find someone better for 2028,” someone said – a sentiment that was surprisingly common. “I want a real man like Vance to run this,” someone else said.
I have a hard time equating the pudgy werewolf, Vance, to a “real man” but then my perceptions of the GOP and their perceptions of themselves are 180 degrees at odds and appearance is the least of it. I couldn’t care less about appearance if there was some Eisenhower-Republican sensibility left in the party. I think Eisenhower was the last of his breed. And always bear in mind, he was a Democrat in Texas until the Republicans saw a good thing in the WWII general and war hero and recruited him. Those were the days.
This is a fascinating phenomenon, however. It shows that there are chinks in Trump’s armor. The financially sophistocated are seeing Trump’s bitcoin scam for what it is. The uberwealthy, the likes of Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, that crowd, are in it for the big money but the MAGAs who are more on the normal side on the ledger, financially, are awake apparently. This is some good news.
And it comes at an interesting time. Truth Social is going into the money business. Did you hear that? Oh, yes, Devon is burning the candle at both ends.
Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group announced Wednesday it plans to expand into financial services and potentially buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Shares of Trump Media (DJT) climbed 8% on the news.
Trump Media said it plans to launch a fintech brand called Truth.Fi and to introduce investment vehicles that will focus on American growth, manufacturing, energy and the “Patriot Economy.” The push into fintech was telegraphed by a trademark application filed in November.
The moves by Trump Media, a company built on President Donald Trump’s brand, are likely to raise further conflict of interest concerns about the second Trump administration.
The company said its board of directors has also approved plans to diversify its cash holdings into exchange traded funds (ETFs), bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and crypto-related securities.
“We began by creating a free-speech social media platform, added an ultra-fast TV streaming service, and now we’re moving into investment products and decentralized finance,” Devin Nunes, Trump Media’s CEO and a former Republican member of Congress, said in a statement.
Trump Media said it is teaming up with Charles Schwab to develop customized, separately managed funds and advise on investments.
I’m not even going to start on the potential conflict of interests this raises. If there’s one thing we learned from the two impeachments during the first Trump term, it’s that ethics, as you and I understand that term, no longer exists in Washington. At least not for Republicans. Bob Mendendez got sentenced to nine years in prison, which he richly deserved, but somehow justice doesn’t happen on the other side of the aisle.
But let’s look at the good news angle of all this. Trump’s little house of crypto wealth may be collapsing while it’s still in its infancy. At least the foundation is not as solid as he thought it would be. And that’s a revelation.
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“One conservative wrote that their litmus test was “if Biden pulled this shit, how would I feel? … I can’t imagine any other president doing this”.”
That’s because Biden would NEVER have considered pulling this kind of stunt in the first place (I might could see Nixon *considering* the move but ultimately passing. On the other hand, one has to wonder why this “conservative” was the least bit surprised at Trump’s little crypto-grifting? The man’s done NOTHING but move from one grift straight into another (and taken the truly gullible along for the ride).
Joseph, this goes so far beyond the “monopoly game” Trump and other “wealthy” investors are creating. Remember his digital “play cards” that he made hundreds of thousands on — the chance to gain more wealth with nothing? Also, remember when he ran ads begging for donations, selling Christmas wrap with his face on it, “gold” sneakers, a “chance” at two tickets to a rally for donating, on & on? His ads — today. right now, receiving salary as President, are asking for donations — pleading for money to help him to do whatever he is doing? In my MANY years watching politics, I HAVE HEARD of a SITTING President BEGGING for money over the internet, after winning a four year term at taxpayer expense. Is he SO poor that he must beg $10 or $20 od $1000 from MAGAs?? Worse, claiming the requests to help him continue to campaign??
Hi, Nanapat. Did you write the opposite of what you meant? You wrote: “In my many years watching politics, I have heard of a sitting president begging for money […] ”
Did you mean instead to write something like “I have never heard” or “This is the first time that I have heard”?
Real men tell the truth. Real men sacrifice for others welfare and safety. Real men treat everyone as equals. Real men try to be men of value not wealth. Real men protect the innocent. Real men honor their oaths and their commitments. Real men do what is right just because it is right. Real men dont tear others down to stroke their ego. Real men are not insecure because they know themselves. Real men know love is stronger than hate. Real men do not live in fear. I could go on, but the point is there appears to be NO real men, or women for that matter, in the American Nazi Party, called the gop.
I really hope “teaming up with Charles Schwab” just means buying their investment products. I would hate to have to look for a new home for my IRA because Schwab was compromised.
Gerald Ford was a good man. I had lunch with his former colleagues in the Michigan legislature. Every one of them said he was the most decent man they knew. The worst thing the Dems could say was that his brand of conservatism failed to.connect the dots. He’d give his own lunch to a poor kid,but failed to understand that cancelling school.lunches left a lot of kids hungry every single day.
Can’t the GOP find a candidate who is decent, kind,,and smart? Eisenhower was truly the last. Vance isn’t stupid but he’s power hungry and selfish.