Trump is 'selling out America,' Democrats argue in protest hours ahead of the president's memecoin gala

Democratic lawmakers demanded President Donald Trump release the list of people attending a gala  — hours ahead of a dinner hosted by the president for the top holders of his memecoin.

During a press conference on Thursday, Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Rep. Sam Liccardo of California alongside consumer advocacy organizations, blasted an event set to be held later on Thursday at Trump's private golf club.

"The American people have no idea who is buying access to the president and no idea what they are getting in return," Warren said. 

On Thursday night, Trump will host the top 220 owners of his memecoin at his private golf club outside of the nation's capital. Trump first launched his memecoin, $TRUMP, days ahead of his inauguration. That, along with the president's other crypto interests, including a recently launched stablecoin through Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, have garnered criticism from Democrats as lawmakers work to draft legislation to regulate stablecoins and crypto at large. 

The price for attending the gala is between $55,000 and $37.7 million, according to NBC News . Though many of the attendees are anonymous, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has said he would be going to the gala, in a post on X.

Blumenthal accused the Trump administration of hiding who has been invited to the gala and said some attendees could be coming from foreign powers and governments. This, he argues, represents a breach of trust for the American people and raises the specter of misaligned incentives. 

"Donald Trump is selling access," Blumenthal said. "He is selling out America. He is selling it to foreign powers. He is putting our national security at risk."

White House Press Secretary  Karoline Leavitt was asked about the dinner during a press conference on Thursday and whether the administration would make the list of the attendees public.

"This question has been raised with the president," Leavitt said. "I have also addressed the dinner tonight. The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner. It's not taking place here at the White House." 

Pressure mounts 

Earlier in the day, top Democrat Maxine Waters of California introduced a bill to address concerns about the president's involvement in digital assets, calling for an end to "crypto corruption." 

“Trump’s crypto con is not just a scam to target investors," Waters said in a statement. "It’s also a dangerous backdoor for selling influence over American policies to the highest foreign bidder. For all we know, Russia, China, or even North Korea could be buying Trump’s crypto to secure favors from the White House."

In February, Rep. Sam Liccardo of California introduced a similar bill that would block the president, members of Congress and other senior officials, as well as their spouses and children, from issuing or sponsoring securities and cryptocurrencies, including memecoins. Trump and first lady Melania both launched eponymous tokens the weekend before Inauguration Day in January. 

Trump has helped foster a better regulatory environment for the U.S. crypto industry, Skybridge founder Anthony Scaramucci told CNBC on Thursday, but said the president's memecoin activity "gums up the works." Scaramucci served an unusually short stint as White House communications director during Trump's first term.

"It makes people think of the unseemingly side of the blockchain and crypto, as opposed to the positive," he added. "So I'm not in love with the dinner. I'm sure there are people on the president's team that are not in love with the dinner."

The TRUMP token has largely been outperforming the wider crypto market on Thursday, with trading volume surpassing $2 billion, The Block reported.