Ex-NBA player Lamar Odom met with boos from hecklers at Trump's crypto dinner
Ex-NBA player Lamar Odom met with boos from hecklers at Trump's crypto dinner
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Trump hosts crypto dinner for biggest $TRUMP coin buyers
The president hosted top investors in his meme coin and rewarded the biggest buyers with gifts worth about $100,000.
Lamar Odom soaked up plenty of adulation during his time in the NBA, including two championship victories with the Los Angeles Lakers. But on May 22 he was met with boos as he entered a dinner for top investors in President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency venture.
Protesters gathered outside Trump's club in Sterling, Virginia, heckled Odom along with everyone entering the venue, as seen on a video the former NBA-player-turned-crypto-entrepreneur posted on social media. One protester called out, "Hypocrite!" Another held up a sign saying "Don the Con." Others had a banner reading "No Kings."
Democrats and ethics experts have sharply criticized Trump's crypto businesses, saying they offer wealthy people access to and an opportunity to influence the president. The dinner for top purchasers of the $TRUMP meme coin is a vivid example of that, critics said, with 220 top investors getting prized time with the commander in chief.
A group of congressional Democrats sent a letter to the Department of Justice on May 22 urging the agency to investigate whether Trump's crypto dinner violates the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments provision in the Constitution. The emoluments clause bars any U.S. official from accepting 'any present' of 'any kind whatsoever, from any King, Prince, or foreign state.'
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that it's "absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency."
Though the White House refused to publicize the list of dinner guests, some revealed publicly that they attended. Odom posted on social media that he was "fired up" to be at the event, although the video only showed the jeers of protesters as he walked into the club.
"Think about it – what meme coin has ever done this?" Odom wrote.
Odom also has a meme coin of his own, which he promoted in the post.
A 14-year NBA veteran, Odom was in the spotlight for his marriage to Khloé Kardashian and made appearances on her reality television show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." The couple also had a show, "Khloé & Lamar." In 2015, Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel after a drug overdose. The pair's divorce was finalized in 2016.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
9 minutes ago
- Fox News
Rep. Alford to introduce congressional stock trading ban mirroring Senate's 'PELOSI Act'
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., on Wednesday will introduce legislation that would ban congressional stock trading, serving as the House companion bill to Sen. Josh Hawley's, R-Mo., "PELOSI Act" in the Senate. Alford's proposed bill would ban lawmakers and their spouses from holding, purchasing or selling individual stocks while in office, but it allows investments in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds or U.S. Treasury bonds. If passed, current lawmakers would have 180 days to comply with the legislation. Likewise, newly elected lawmakers must achieve compliance within 180 days of entering office. "As public servants, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard and avoid the mere appearance of corruption," Alford said in a statement. "Unfortunately, too many members of Congress are engaging in suspicious stock trades based on non-public information to enrich themselves." "These gross violations of the public trust make clear: we must finally take action to ban members and their spouses from owning or selling individual stocks," he added. Under the proposed legislation, lawmakers who continue to make wrongful transactions would be required to hand over any profits they made to the U.S. Treasury Department. The House or Senate ethics committees could also impose a fine on such lawmakers amounting to 10% of each wrongful transaction. House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed a stock trading ban on Wednesday, saying "a few bad actors" have ruined Americans' trust in lawmakers on the issue. "You want me to tell you my honest opinion on that? I'm in favor of that, because I don't think we should have any appearance of impropriety here," he told reporters during a press conference. President Donald Trump himself endorsed the same ban for members of Congress in an interview with Time magazine last month. "I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information, and I would be okay with it. If they send that to me, I would do it," he said of a trading ban. "You'll sign it?" the reporter pressed. "Absolutely," Trump responded. Democrats in the House of Representatives have also expressed support for a ban, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., throwing his weight behind the proposal last week.
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gold Turns Higher on Increased Uncertainty
Gold prices gain as comments from President Trump instill some new economic worries heading into the summer. Trump posted on his Truth Social account that China's President Xi was "extremely hard to make a deal with," and also demanded Fed Chair Jerome Powell lower interest rates.
The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
Doug Ford urges Canada's leader to ramp up tariffs on US
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pressuring Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney to ramp up tariffs against the United States after President Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum earlier this week. 'I highly recommended to the prime minister directly that we slap another 25 percent on top of our tariffs to equal President Trump's tariffs on our steel,' Ford said during his Wednesday appearance on CNN's 'Situation Room.' 'He has to, he has to start looking around the world at China and other locations that are taking Chinese steel and really stop the flow of steel. That's the problem,' Ford told host Wolf Blitzer. 'Canada is not the problem. Again. We purchased 30 billion, with a 'B,' of steel off the US, and that's going to come to an end real quick.' Trump signed the executive order to hike the tariffs on Tuesday. The measure went into effect on Wednesday and would levy steel and aluminum tariffs on almost all imports to the U.S.. The United Kingdom is exempt as it inked a trade deal with Washington last month. Canada has retaliated against the U.S. previously, slapping a 25 percent reciprocal tariff on U.S. aluminum and steel products. Carney, who met with Trump at the White House in early May, did not express readiness to implement Ford's suggestion. 'We will take some time, not much, some time because we are in intensive discussions right now with the Americans on the trading relationship,' Carney said to reporters on Wednesday, according to Politico. 'Those discussions are progressing. I would note that the American action is a global action. It's not one targeted in Canada, so we will take some time, but not more,' the prime minister said. Ontario is open to imposing its own countermeasures, according to Ford. When asked on Wednesday if willing to bring back the electricity surcharge, he told reporters that 'everything's on the table.' Ontario implemented a 25 percent extra charge on the electricity Canada exports to three U.S. states after Trump threatened to double tariffs on steel and aluminum. Ford eventually spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and later suspended the tax impacting Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
