Christopher Luxon discussed his phone call with Donald Trump during an interview with Mike Hosking. Video / Newstalk ZB
Donald Trump hosted an exclusive cryptocurrency dinner for more than 200 major investors at his Virginia golf club.
A New Zealander identified as a financial trader was photographed at the event.
Protesters and Democratic senators criticised the event, calling it “corruption” and demanding transparency.
A New Zealander was among the guests at United States President Donald Trump’s exclusive cryptocurrency dinner.
Trump hosted a private dinner for more than 200 major investors in his crypto memecoin “$Trump” at his Virginia golf club on Thursday.
Invitees were kept secret before the event, which stated onits website that invitations were only for the top 220 $Trump coin holders (on average, during a specified time period). Winners were able to send someone in their place.
Dylan Stansfield, of Auckland, whose now-deactivated LinkedIn page listed him as a self-employed financial trader, was photographed by journalists at the event, US television news NBC reported.
Stansfield was also reported to be a guest by the New York Times.
When NBC contacted Stansfield, he lashed out at the news agency.
He told NBC he was “infuriated to have been identified” and that “doxing crypto people put their lives at risk”.
Stansfield responded to the Herald’s request for comment by threatening legal action.
The $Trump memecoin was launched three days before the US President's inauguration in January. Photo / Getty Images
Dinner labelled ‘orgy of corruption’
Trump launched the memecoin three days before his inauguration in January, quickly increasing his net worth by billions and prompting major, first-of-their-kind ethics questions.
The White House downplayed those concerns on Thursday, insisting Trump was attending the dinner event in his “personal time”.
The President posted on his Truth Social platform before the event that “the USA is DOMINATING in Crypto, Bitcoin, etc” and pledged to “keep it that way”.
Photos posted online by attendees to the dinner – press were not allowed inside – showed a lectern sporting the presidential seal, apparently for Trump to deliver remarks.
US President Donald Trump has been accused of profiting from the presidency while roiling the US economy. Photo / Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Earlier in the day, Democratic senators held a press conference to denounce the event and call for disclosure of who would be attending.
Calling the dinner “an orgy of corruption”, Senator Elizabeth Warren criticised Trump for “using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto”.
Data analytics firm Inca Digital has confirmed many transactions occurred through international exchanges unavailable in the US, suggesting foreign buyers.
‘Slap in the face’
A site listing the “official winners” of $Trump coin holders included only usernames and digital wallet addresses, with the No 1 spot held by “Sun”.
Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has touted a US$20 million ($34m) commitment to the memecoin as part of his US$93m total investment in Trump-linked crypto ventures.
Justin Sun, founder of Tron, has a US$93 million total investment in Trump-linked crypto ventures. Photo / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sun, founder of top 10 cryptocurrency Tron, was under investigation by US authorities for market manipulation, but regulators, now controlled by Trump appointees, agreed in February to a 60-day pause to seek a settlement.
“Apparently, I’m at the VIP lounge waiting for the President to come with everybody,” a tuxedo-clad Sun said in a video posted on X Thursday evening.
Trump departed the golf course just over an hour after his arrival.
Justin Unga, of advocacy group End Citizens United, described the crypto dinner as a blatant example of Trump profiting from the presidency while roiling the US economy.
“Some say this is a back door to corruption,” Unga said.
“I would argue it’s the front door with valet parking, and it’s got a red carpet... and a slap in the face of hard-working Americans.”
