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Who you will and who you won't see at Donald Trump Jr's DC private members' club
Who you will and who you won't see at Donald Trump Jr's DC private members' club

Yahoo

time26-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Who you will and who you won't see at Donald Trump Jr's DC private members' club

Next month will see the opening in Washington, D.C., of Executive Branch, the Trump-aligned private members' club, in a subterranean space behind a Georgetown shopping mall. Now, according to reporting by The New York Times, we now have a better idea of who you will and who you won't see there. Donald Trump Jr. owns the club along with Zach and Alex Witkoff, sons of President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; Omeed Malik, head of 1789 Capital; and Chris Buskirk, an ally of Vice President JD Vance. With a hefty joining fee reportedly as much as $500,000, the club is expected to have up to 200 members and requires more than just money to gain entry. For a start, a spokesperson for the club said, 'You have to know the owners.' They added: 'This is not just for any Saudi businessman,' and that members want a place 'where they're not annoyed.' President Trump's White House crypto czar, tech investor David Sacks, says that Executive Branch differs from other private clubs in the city in that Washington insiders will not be welcome and members won't have to worry 'that the next person over at the bar is a fake news reporter or even a lobbyist' who 'we don't know and we don't trust.' Speaking on his All-In podcast earlier this month, Sacks confirmed a ban on media and said: 'To the extent there are Republican clubs, they tend to be like more Bush-era Republicans as opposed to Trump-era Republicans.' He added: 'So we wanted to create something new, hipper and Trump-aligned.' While other private clubs in the capital tend to be in grand historic buildings, the discreet, almost hidden, location of Executive Branch will also be stylistically different, with the Times reporting that it 'will have what members say is modern décor inspired by Aman New York, a luxurious hotel and private club that opened in 2022.' As to who is expected to frequent the club, in addition to the owners and Sacks, founding members include Jeff Miller, a lobbyist and top Trump fundraiser, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, owners of crypto firm Gemini, until recently subject to a Securities & Exchange Commission investigation no longer being pursued. Will the president stop by? That's somewhat unclear, as while the club has been planned for the utmost discretion, a presidential motorcade is somewhat more obtrusive when navigating one of the District of Columbia's most desirable neighborhoods. During his first term, Trump was able to dine at what was then the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, a short distance from the White House. This was relatively out in the open, given that it was a functioning public space, accessible to journalists, lobbyists, lawmakers, and other officials. Any visits to a venue as discreet and guarded as Executive Branch would potentially be shrouded in mystery and rife with speculation.

Enhanced Games: $1m cheques, Trump Jr and a threat to the Olympics
Enhanced Games: $1m cheques, Trump Jr and a threat to the Olympics

Telegraph

time25-05-2025

  • Sport
  • Telegraph

Enhanced Games: $1m cheques, Trump Jr and a threat to the Olympics

Featuring prominently on the slick website of a concept called the Enhanced Games is a particularly eye-catching message from Donald Trump Jr. 'The Enhanced Games represent the future – real competition, real freedom and real records being smashed,' says the quote from the US president's son, which sits beneath a video of the president himself that proclaims: ' The impossible is what we do best.' The message from Trump Jr, whose 1789 Capital firm has made a multi-million-dollar investment, goes on: 'This is about excellence, innovation and American dominance on the world stage – something the Maga movement is all about. The Enhanced Games are going to be huge, and I couldn't be prouder to support this movement that is changing sports forever.' Trump Sr has not himself provided a personal endorsement but, with just over three years until the United States will actually host the Olympic Games, complete with its oath that explicitly commits 'to sport without doping', it is still a fairly extraordinary juxtaposition. The Enhanced Games, if you did not know, is a concept founded on allowing its athletes to use performance-enhancing substances. It is paying $1 million for every 'world record' and, alongside the release of an hour-long documentary following certain athletes on their chemically enhanced journey, has just announced that the inaugural Enhanced Games will be held next May in Las Vegas. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Enhanced Games (@enhanced_games) The documentary largely details the training of the Australian former world swimming champion James Magnussen, complete with footage of him injecting himself. 'The base of it was testosterone and then peptides… we used BPC-157, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and thymosin,' he later explained, speaking as if the audience had a biochemistry PhD. The headline moment, however, was provided elsewhere. Wearing an aerodynamic swimsuit that is also outlawed in regular competition, the Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was timed breaking the existing 50m freestyle world swimming record. Gkolomeev finished fifth at last year's Olympics Games and the 50m freestyle is one of four swimming disciplines (alongside the 100m freestyle and 50m and 100m butterfly) that will make up the swimming events at the first Enhanced Games next year. There will also be sprint events in athletics as well as weightlifting. News of Gkolomeev's feat provoked a predictably fierce backlash from sport's established governing bodies. 'Like clowns juggling knives, sadly, these athletes will get hurt performing in this circus,' said World Aquatics. 'History has shown us time and time again the grave dangers of doping to human health. This is a sideshow to those who compete honestly, fairly, and respect the true spirit of sport.' Travis Tygart, the influential chief executive of the US Anti-Doping Agency, called it a 'dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle', while Lord Coe, the president of World Athletics, has previously dismissed the concept as 'b-------'. The International Olympic Committee has not publicly commented and, as members gathered in February to elect Kirsty Coventry as the new IOC president, there was apparently no thought of the Enhanced Games. 'I did not hear it mentioned once all week – the mood was very upbeat after the success of Paris,' said one IOC insider. FASTEST SWIMMER IN HISTORY Kristian Gkolomeev breaks the 50m Freestyle World Record with a time of 20.89 seconds, earning a $1,000,000 prize. Breaks Cesar Cielo's 2009 record (20.91). Watch Documentary — Enhanced Games (@enhanced_games) May 22, 2025 The IOC, though, has some very obvious points of vulnerability. There was dismay last summer among many athletes over the handling of an anti-doping investigation that cleared Chinese swimmers to compete. Faith in the authorities' ability to enforce current rules is, to put it politely, limited. And then there is the issue of money and the rewards for Olympic athletes who dedicate their lives to a multi-billion-pound show but are frequently left with no more than memories and huge financial debts for the honour. 'I think the business model that is going right now is very outdated for the athletes,' the swimmer Adam Peaty told me last year. 'We need to encourage the next generation to come through – have a fair compensation; it should be coming from the IOC and trickling back down to the athletes who put on the show.' It is a sentiment widely shared, including among promoters in sports where not paying prize money or even appearance fees to athletes would be utterly unthinkable. 'The day after a medal, no one says: 'Who is going to put food on your table?' You try eating a medal – you'll lose your teeth,' says Barry Hearn, whose Professional Darts Corporation has a £1 million first prize for its next world champion. For those Olympic athletes who already dope, or who believe that doping is so prevalent that they cannot win cleanly, you could imagine some might become drawn to a concept where chemical enhancement is out in the open and the potential financial rewards are huge. The Enhanced Games themselves have been emphasising the involvement of medics in the preparation of their athletes – there is a 14-strong 'independent medical and scientific commission' – even if claims of 'safety' have been strongly disputed elsewhere within the profession. 'We live in a world transformed by science,' said Enhanced Games founder Aron D'Souza. 'But sport has stood still. We are not updating the rulebook – we are rewriting it. And we're doing it safely, ethically, and boldly.' Magnussen has also been emphasising the financial point. 'The most common response I hear from current athletes is, if this all goes ahead the way we believe it will in the first year, then we're very interested to join,' he said. 'Because the opportunity to set yourself up for life just isn't there at the moment. But it's very clear that opportunity is available with the Enhanced Games.' As well as Trump's 1789 Capital firm, other known investors include the billionaire PayPal founder Peter Thiel. The big immediate challenge, though, will surely be finding enough world-class athletes over the next 12 months to stage meaningful competition. The Enhanced Games website includes a form for potential participants to register their interest – and it is striking that the list of signed-up athletes currently numbers just four: Magnussen, Gkolomeev and two more swimmers, Josif Miladinov of Bulgaria and Ukranian Andrii Govorov. Of the four, only Miladinov is below the age of 30. It rather suggests that this particular concept has too many ethical and reputational barriers to seriously impact on conventional sporting structures, certainly in the immediate future. But, as it basks in the afterglow of Paris and the election of a continuity president in Coventry, the IOC would be wise to address some of the very legitimate grievances that still fester.

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