An attempt by White House press secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt to blow off ethical and legal concerns about Donald Trump’s crypto dinner on Thursday night might come back to haunt her boss.
Thursday afternoon [Bimbo #1] Leavitt lectured reporters in the Brady Briefing Room about the dinner which was to include foreign investors at a Donald Trump golf resort in Virginia, telling NBC’s Garrett Haake, “Well, as you know, Garrett, this question has been raised with the president. 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. But certainly I can raise that question and try to get you an answer for it.”
[Bimbo #1] Leavitt’s claim of “personal time” caught the ear of multiple Trump critics.
On X, The Bulwark’s Tim Miller pointed out, “President’s don’t get ‘personal time.’ There’s not like a magic suit you wear when you are doing official business and one where you are just Donald from Queens.”
Conservative lawyer and ardent Trump opponent George Conway took the next step and suggested, “Actually, it’s fine. If Trump is saying he’s doing something on his ‘personal time,’ then obviously that means he’s not acting within what the Supreme Court calls ‘the outer perimeter of his official responsibility,’ which, in turn, means he’s not immune from criminal prosecution.”
Tag Archives: Karoline Leavitt
The Hill: Democrats rip Trump ahead of meme coin dinner: ‘Orgy of corruption
However, the announcement of the dinner last month, which urged investors to load up on $TRUMP to secure one of 220 spots at the “intimate private dinner,” has sparked a new level of backlash.
“Donald Trump’s dinner is an orgy of corruption,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday. “That’s what this is all about. We are here today to talk about exactly one topic: corruption, corruption in its ugliest form.”
“Donald Trump is using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto, and he’s doing it right out there in plain sight,” she added. “He is signaling to anyone who wants to ask for a special favor and is willing to pay for it exactly how to do that.”
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5314955-trump-meme-coin-dinner-criticism
Daily Beast: Everyone Wants to Know Who Was at Trump’s Secretive Dinner
The top 25 investors were invited to a special pre-dinner reception and tour, although details of the tour were not listed on the $TRUMP website.
Despite ethical questions raised over being able to buy access to the president, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters it was not an official event. “The president is attending it in his personal time,” she said on Thursday. “It is not a White House dinner, it’s not taking place here at the White House.”
Speaking to Anderson Cooper on Thursday, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy questioned the mystery around the guest list. “This might be close to the top of the most corrupt things that the president has done,” Murphy said. “There are 200 plus anonymous individuals who paid their way to meet with President Trump.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/everyone-wants-to-know-who-was-at-trumps-secretive-dinner
Newsweek: White House rips federal judge who said Trump admin violated court order
White House press secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt tore into a federal judge on Thursday who accused the Trump administration of “unquestionably” violating a court order to provide “meaningful” due process to people who are targeted for deportation.
During Thursday’s White House press briefing, [Bimbo #1] Leavitt described Murphy as a “liberal activist district court judge” from Boston who “is trying to force the President of the United States to bring these monsters back to our country.”
While she spoke, a screen behind [Bimbo #1] Leavitt displayed photos of the deportees the White House says were on the flight and Leavitt rattled through a list of crimes the men are accused of or have been convicted of committing.
Your photos and rants are irrelevant, Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt. Our constitution guarantees certain inalienable rights, including due process, to everyone in this country including immigrants, legal or not, whether a nattering fool like you agrees with it or not.

https://www.newsweek.com/karoline-leavitt-judge-brian-murphy-press-briefing-2075992
New Republic: Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt Melts Down Over Blocked South Sudan Deportations
White House Press Secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt delivered a tirade Thursday against a federal judge who ruled against Donald Trump’s illegal deportations to South Sudan.
During a press briefing, [Bimbo #1] Leavitt railed against U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts, who ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration had provided “plainly insufficient” notice to several third-country nationals before deporting them to South Sudan, which is in the midst of violence and political unrest. As a result, the migrants are being held at a U.S. naval base in Djibouti.
Deporting people to third countries, especially to a war-torn sh*th*l* like South Sudan, is beyond inhumane. How are people with no connection to the country, who in most cases (probably all cases) don’t know the language, going to survive and have any semblance of a decent life?
Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt: You’re a cruel, dumb, stupid, ignorant, arrogant bimbo bitch!

https://newrepublic.com/post/195659/karoline-leavitt-donald-trump-south-sudan-deportations
Fox News: White House shuts down reporter’s ‘ridiculous’ challenge of White South African farmer deaths
‘What’s unsubstantiated about the video?’ [Bimbo #1] Leavitt said
The White House pushed back against statements from a reporter challenging statements from the Trump administration regarding the treatment of White South African farmers — after President Donald Trump showed a video allegedly depicting burial sites of them at the White House on Wednesday.
While hosting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump aired a video in the Oval Office that showed white crosses that Trump said were approximately 1,000 burial sites of White Afrikaner South African farmers. Trump has claimed these farmers are being forced off of their land.
But Yamiche Alcindor with NBC News questioned White House Press Secretary [& Bimbo #1] Karoline Leavitt on the credibility of the video, amid reports that the crosses were from a memorial demonstration following the murder of a White farming couple, not actual burial sites.
Trump never lets the truth get in the way of a good fib!
USA Today: Trump’s crypto dinner: Black ties, a Chinese billionaire and ethics questions
Referencing Trump’s business moves while in office, an ethics expert said, “His is one of the most blatant and appalling instances of selling access to the presidency I’ve ever seen.”
President Donald Trump dined with 220 investors who plowed a combined $148 million into his crypto venture, boosting the growing crypto industry and inviting a torrent of criticism about the ethical implications.
Black-tie dinners with the wealthy are nothing new for Trump. But this event, which took place on the evening of May 22 at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, stood out among the annals of presidential dining.
The dinner with the president was a reward for making the leaderboard in a contest to be among the top purchasers of the $TRUMP meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency. The top 25 buyers spent more than $111 million and were granted a private VIP reception with Trump, while the top four also received a limited edition Trump Tourbillon watch that sells for $100,000.
This is corruption and influence-peddling at is finest. King Donald is for sale!
MSNBC: There’s a reason Republicans want to hide what’s in their newly passed megabill
If that sounds like hyperbole, it’s not.
Early Wednesday, when most Americans were snuggled in their beds, Republicans in the House of Representatives were working hard to take away the health care of millions of Americans, blow a $3 trillion hole in the budget deficit and make the wealthiest people in America richer and the poorest Americans poorer.
If this sounds like hyperbole, it’s not. The GOP-controlled House Rules Committee convened at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning to discuss a bill that hasn’t been fully drafted and the provisions of which were still part of intense negotiations. Indeed, the real work on the legislation was happening behind closed doors as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried to cobble together enough votes to pass something, anything, so he could meet his self-imposed deadline for a floor vote by Memorial Day. Late Wednesday, GOP leaders released yet more significant changes to the bill, and on Thursday morning the full House passed the bill by a single vote.
What we do know about the legislation the GOP is calling the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is genuinely terrifying.
According to an analysis published Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office, the numbers in the GOP’s draft legislation are brutal. The bill would increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion — a rise that is spooking bond markets already worried about the president’s tariff increases. The bill would slash $267 billion in federal spending for SNAP, which more than 42 million low-income people rely on to put food on the table for their families. And it would cut nearly $700 billion from federal funding for Medicaid.
The CBO estimated Tuesday that the Medicaid cuts could cause roughly 8 million people to lose their health insurance coverage, and that number could rise to 15 million thanks to other provisions in the legislation. The amendments revealed Wednesday, writes Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, surely “would lead to more people losing health insurance.” But Republicans scrambled to vote Thursday before the CBO could update its totals.
All this is being done to extend the Trump tax cuts, which disproportionately benefit wealthy people. The impact of the GOP’s bill is extraordinary in both its cruelty and its extreme inequality. According to the CBO’s estimate, household resources for the poorest people would decrease by 4% over the next eight years, while the richest people’s household resources would increase by 4%.
Miami Herald: Pam Bondi Under Fire Over Qatar Jet: ‘Wrong Signal’
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s alleged connection to Qatar has drawn criticism as the Qatari government plans to gift President Donald Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 for temporary use as Air Force One. Bondi previously lobbied Congress for Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in 2020. The situation has since fueled legal and ethical concerns regarding foreign gifts to U.S. officials.
…
Democratic pollster Matt McDermott said, “The DOJ memo approving Trump’s Qatari jet? Written by Pam Bondi. Her last job? Lobbying for Qatar.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pam-bondi-under-fire-over-qatar-jet-wrong-signal/ss-AA1F5kGq
CNN: Trump warns America’s businesses: Eat my tariffs, or pay the price
President Donald Trump is sending a stern warning to Corporate America: He will use his bully pulpit to publicly shame companies that dare to raise prices because of tariffs.
Walmart:
After Walmart last week said it would have to jack up some prices because of high costs of the global trade war, Trump on Saturday responded forcefully in a Truth Social post, demanding Walmart reverse its decision.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump said. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
The rebuke was the White House’s third such public reprimand of a big American business that discussed the possibility of raising prices because of the steep cost of tariffs.
Amazon:
On April 29, after Amazon reportedly considered displaying an additional tariff charge next to the listed price on its Haul platform, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a press briefing held up a photo of Amazon Chairman Jeff Bezos and called the move a “hostile and political act.” Trump, whom a senior official described as “pissed,” called Bezos to complain, saying the company’s founder “solved the problem very quickly.”
Amazon said that although it was considering displaying the tariff cost, the plan was ultimately not approved and “not going to happen.”
Mattel:
A week later, on May 6, Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Mattel after the Barbie and Hot Wheels maker said it would have to raise prices. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said Trump’s tariffs won’t bring toy manufacturing to America, because toys couldn’t be manufactured in America and still be sold at affordable prices.
“We don’t see that happening,” Kreiz told CNBC after Mattel warned that tariffs will increase toy prices for American consumers.
Trump fired back from the Oval Office, threatening the company and its CEO.
“We’ll put a 100% tariff on his toys, and he won’t sell one toy in the United States, and that’s their biggest market,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t wanna have him as an executive too long.”
Trump = a narcissistic bully suffering a severe case of arrested development!

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/business/trump-tariffs-price-consumers