How do you justify the grift?

[neurosis]

What's with the sudden surge of unnecessary vitriolic name-calling   

And you're far too kind to them...

I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did. He's a better man than I am.   

[neurosis]

I'm shocked!

I know that the pardon story is a few days old but getting in to some of the details 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/technology/trump-pardons-cz-binance.html

Changpeng Zhao, the richest man in crypto, had admitted to money-laundering violations that allowed terrorists and other criminals to move money on Binance.

"The pardon was the latest example of how high-profile business partners of Mr. Trump and his family have benefited from his rollback of the wide-ranging crypto crackdown orchestrated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. To seek the pardon, Mr. Zhao hired lawyers and lobbyists with ties to the Trump administration, while Binance struck a business deal with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto start-up.

That deal alone is poised to generate tens of millions of dollars a year for the Trumps and the family of Steve Witkoff, the president's top Middle East adviser."

You don't say  🤔

It must be exhausting defending the corruption in this administration  

But even in the context of Mr. Trump's broader dismantlement of crypto enforcement, the pardon for Mr. Zhao was extraordinary.

Long considered the crypto industry's richest man, Mr. Zhao — a Chinese-born executive who now lives in the United Arab Emirates — admitted that he had violated the law by failing to install rigorous compliance systems at Binance. That allowed people in countries under sanctions, and terrorist groups like Hamas, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, to move money on his platform.

[Smit]

They don't even try to be discreet.

It makes the allegations against Hunter Biden look kinda insignificant, eh?

Inside the Trump family's global crypto cash machine

Excerpt:

DUBAI - Eric Trump was in Dubai on family business. Meeting with a Chinese businessman and his associates on the sidelines of a cryptocurrency conference in May this year, the son of U.S. President Donald J. Trump ran through his usual talking points about the inefficiency of traditional banks and his own famous father's run-ins with financiers.

Then came the pitch. Buy at least $20 million of "governance tokens" in the Trump family's crypto business, World Liberty Financial, and become part of a venture that Eric Trump predicted would soon embody the future of finance in America, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

To some in that small gathering, the technology Eric Trump's team described for World Liberty seemed "rudimentary," the person said. At the time, World Liberty was a fledgling business. It hadn't yet created the cryptocurrency-based finance platform it promised after its September 2024 launch. It still hasn't.

Even so, the pitch apparently worked. On June 26, an obscure entity called Aqua1 Foundation, which said it was based in the United Arab Emirates, announced it was buying $100 million of cryptocurrency tokens from World Liberty. It was the single largest known purchase of the so-called WLFI tokens at the time.

[neurosis]

It makes the allegations against Hunter Biden look kinda insignificant, eh?

I keep wondering how many examples of corruption the Hunter Biden whataboutism is supposed to excuse. 

[Bucky Cornstarch]

Where is the outrage from the principled republicans?

[jstell]

Where is the outrage from the principled republicans?

That is soooo last century.

[neurosis]

Pretty ballsy of 60 minutes to run an interview that wasn't a total ass kissing.


https://youtu.be/wQPTUa8vxRU?si=_t4hXFSP4LbwXyos&t=679  <--- posting the time stamped for the topic "grift"


Full interview. 

[beej]

Pretty ballsy of 60 minutes to run an interview that wasn't a total ass kissing.


https://youtu.be/wQPTUa8vxRU?si=_t4hXFSP4LbwXyos&t=679  <--- posting the time stamped for the topic "grift"


Full interview. 

it would be balsy if they ever ran a segment that didn't make them look like a shoe-shine boy to the democrats.

[beej]

Where is the outrage from the principled republicans?

what would be your reaction to a democratic president doing the same thing?

[beej]

They don't even try to be discreet.

It makes the allegations against Hunter Biden look kinda insignificant, eh?

Inside the Trump family's global crypto cash machine

Excerpt:

why is it that the figures are not adding up? Reuters said that his income went up from 51mil to 864mil in one year. this Ai overview, (if it is worth anything) says that his income was 600mil. The article didn't mention the fact that he was ordered to pay 500+mil to settle a law suit brought by democrats, I don't know how that figures in, but it does seem significant.

AI also says that he only made 62mil from his golf club and real estate business last year. But it doesn't detail where the other 538mil came from. It doesn't matter though. the main thing is that we are supposed to believe is Orange Man Bad. Heck he might be bad. He probably is, but if they are going to present the facts, present them all so we can see for ourselves.

AI overview

The Trump Organization's income has varied significantly by year, with reported revenues around $650 million annually for the first three years of his presidency, a drop to approximately $450 million in 2020 due to the pandemic, and a reported surge to $864 million in the first half of 2025, largely driven by cryptocurrency ventures
. Specific annual figures are often estimated or based on public financial disclosures, which can vary in detail and completeness.
Estimated annual income

    2017-2019: Around $650 million per year
    2020: Approximately $450 million, a drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic
    2024 (partial): An estimated $600 million based on available information
    2025 (first half): $864 million, with a significant portion ($802 million) from cryptocurrency ventures

Details on specific years

    2019: At least $446 million in revenue
    2024 (based on disclosure): At least $732 million in business income
    2025 (first half): Income soared to $864 million due to crypto token sales ($463 million from World Liberty Financial and $336 million from TRUMP meme coin), while traditional businesses like golf clubs and real estate contributed $62 million.

Other revenue sources

    Television and licensing: Earned $259 million from 2011-2017, though this decreased to $22 million in 2015.
    Merchandise: In 2019, the online store T Retail LLC sold over $930,000 in merchandise.

[neurosis]

it would be balsy if they ever ran a segment that didn't make them look like a shoe-shine boy to the democrats.

It's pretty difficult to polish that turd. 

[beej]

It's pretty difficult to polish that turd. 

They don't shy away from polishing turds. 

[Bucky Cornstarch]

what would be your reaction to a democratic president doing the same thing?

Most of us who didn't vote for Trump are also not in cults, so I wouldn't be happy if a democratic president did the same thing.

See, that wasn't so difficult, was it?

[beej]

Most of us who didn't vote for Trump are also not in cults, so I wouldn't be happy if a democratic president did the same thing.

See, that wasn't so difficult, was it?

would you still vote for "said democrat" over any given republican?

[TylerBeer]

Imagine if he released his taxes now LOLOLOLLOL