Even pro-crypto Republican gobsmacked by Trump's dinner: 'Don't like it at all'
Yet another Republican broke with President Donald Trump on Friday over a private dinner he held this week with top investors of his meme coin.
David Urban, former Trump campaign adviser, joined "OutFront" to discuss the dinner, in which 225 of the top investors in Trump's personal $TRUMP meme coin got to dine with the president at an exclusive, high-profile dinner on Thursday night at his private golf club in Sterling, Virginia. The event rewarded the largest investors in his cryptocurrency venture.
Urban, who sits on the Coinbase Global Advisory Board and is an advocate for cryptocurrency, was asked whether Trump ought to embrace people like Justin Sun, who CNN reported was "afraid to come to the country" and yet was getting a "private tour of the White House."
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"This is a Chinese billionaire who has invested tens of millions into Trump coins, and until recently, again, was facing civil fraud charges," noted fill-in anchor Erica Hill.
Urban flatly called out the president.
"Erica, I don't like it. Right? I don't like it at all. I don't like it when members of Congress benefit off their trades. I don't think, you know, political figures, whether you're president of the United States or a House member or Senate staffer, should be benefiting off the markets."
Urban added: "I think it's a major distraction from real legislation that's being taken, you know, taken up in the Senate and moving forward. So, no, I think it's a distraction. And it was something the president probably shouldn't have done."
Hill pressed Urban on New York Times reporting that a number of the attendees said they attended "with the explicit intent of influencing Mr. Trump and U.S. financial regulations."
"You look at that. I mean, having been an advisor, who does President Trump listen to in a moment like this? Is there anyone around him who could say, 'Hey, this is a really bad look?'" she asked.
Urban said he wasn't sure if such a person exists, and noted some of members of Congress are working towards reforms on crypto legislation, pointing to the GENIUS Act specifically, which aims to create the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for stablecoins.
"They said, they noted it was a distraction as well. So I'm not quite sure who he listened to on this one. If he was listening to me, I would have said, 'Stay away,' because it's really damaged some real work that was being done in the industry and for the industry," he complained.