According to a recent Gallup poll, 89 percent of Americans say corruption is widespread in the U.S. government. Apparently, the other 11 percent are incredibly optimistic or incredibly obtuse. Or they are the billionaires that seem to hover around the White House.
And just when you think Washington couldn’t provide a better example of why Americans feel that way, along comes Donald Trump with a special offer: Dinner-with-Donnie-2. Yep, there was a version-1 awhile back.
Once again, Trump is offering an exclusive dinner, next month at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, for the top investors in his $TRUMP meme coin. The event is being promoted as an extremely exclusive opportunity to dine with Trump, where the top 185 investors will be invited and the top twenty-nine will receive VIP-reception privileges. My invitation must still be in the mail.
Forget town halls or sitting down with constituents. Quality time with the president is available if you bring a really big crypto wallet. After announcing the event for rich folks, for some reason, the White House generated a tone-deaf A.I. video, showing rich people celebrating while real people struggle to pay their rent. Read the room folks.
Nothing says “government of the people, by the people and for the people” quite like, “How many Trump coins did you buy? We’re warming up your chicken fricassee.”
Not everyone is showing up for dinner. In fact, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen, nearly a million people who purchased $TRUMP meme coins have collectively lost more than $3.7 billion by the end of June.
That’s too bad, but how did Trump do? He reported $636 million in income connected to the $TRUMP meme coin in 2025. He makes money on every transaction, whether the meme coin goes up or down in value. And there has been a lot of down. If you buy, Trump makes money. If you sell, Trump makes money again.
His total financial disclosure showed more than $1.4 billion in income from cryptocurrency, digital tokens, and related ventures. His total 2025 reported income was more than $2.2 billion.
Trump gets rich. His investors lose. Then Trump provides dinner for the biggest investors (you gotta wonder who’s paying for that).
But wait; before we hear about derangement syndromes, let’s credit the president for his magnanimous gesture of not taking any salary for being president. Really? Yep, Trump made a point again this week of reminding Americans that he doesn’t take a dime of the allocated salary for being president, and he noted how he never gets any credit for that act.
It is true. He doesn’t take the $400,000 annual salary allowed a president of the United States. Let’s work the math. A president’s salary works out to about $1,096 per day. Trump’s reported 2025 income of $2.2 billion comes to $6 million per day, or $250,000 per hour based on a 24-hour workday, whether he is working, dozing, golfing, or eating with billionaires.
So, Donald Trump, in 2025, made 5,500 times the presidential salary. In fact, he made more in two hours than the presidential pay for a year. Thank you, Mr. President.
These are real income numbers, reported from Trump’s required financial disclosure, and reported by the Washington Post. Reuters reported similar results.
So, here’s my question for my MAGA friends (I have a few more than I used to): How much have YOU made in the Trump economy? No, it’s not Joe Biden’s economy. It’s not Joe Biden’s fault. He has been gone for six hundred days. Step up, guys.
Are you making more money? Did your grocery bill go down on day-one? How’s your mortgage rate, your health insurance bill, and your fuel budget? Trump says the American economy is the best it has EVER been. He said it again Saturday. Agree?
I’m not going to the crypto dinner but I’m sure the loyal MAGA following is excited about the event. There are lots of ways to invest in Trump, from bibles to sneakers, NFTs or a watch. Were you clever enough to pick up some early Trump crypto? Are you going to dinner?
Someone will scream, “Hey, Trump is a businessman!” Yeah, but isn’t he supposed to be president? Donald Trump made more money as president in 2025 than he did in decades of business.
When the president of the United States has financial interests in businesses affected by government policy, while his family (their windfalls are not included here) and businesses are generating enormous sums from those interests, Americans are justified in asking questions about conflicts of interest and the appearance of pay-to-play politics. Some Americans ARE asking.
But many in the base and most of Congress don’t seem to care. While you’re scraping up a hundred bucks to almost fill your gas tank, our leader is making millions daily. Don’t you feel duped? He’s consorting with billionaires, cutting their taxes, and making them richer. How are you doing?
“But I want dinner with Trump,” you may say. OK, you can if you pony up a million or two to get a table by the kitchen, or much more for VIP treatment. And if you pay much, much, much more, you get an $899 Trump watch, too. Shipping is free. That’s a deal.
Be aware that it’s not easy to keep your investment high enough to earn dinner. Trump’s meme coin is currently trading at $2.09, down 97% from its high of more than $73 in January.
Seems like a good time to buy. NOTE: The information provided by Rants by Mac is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI and publishes opinion columns regularly.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback: rantsbymac@gmail.com
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