Amid protests and ethical concerns, President Donald Trump hosted a private dinner for the top buyers of his Official Trump TRUMP/USD memecoin on Thursday.

Trump landed at his private golf club near Washington, D.C., via helicopter to spend the evening with his VIP guests, including cryptocurrency millionaire and Tron TRX/USD founder Justin Sun, the meme coin's top holder.

President Donald Trump hosted a private dinner for the top buyers of his Official Trump TRUMP/USD memecoin at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday amid protests and ethical concerns.

What Happened: Trump landed at his golf club, which is located near Washington, D.C., via helicopter to spend the evening with his VIP guests, including cryptocurrency millionaire and Tron TRX/USD founder Justin Sun, who is the meme coin's top holder.

In a series of visuals shared with Benzinga by another invitee, AirdropAlert.com founder Morten Christensen, Trump can be seen addressing his guests, with an elegant indoor dining setup, complete with wine glasses, cutlery, and a menu card, in the background.

The pictures also showed protesters outside the arena holding placards with phrases such as "Democracy Not Kleptocracy" and "Don The Con."

While the top 220 holders dined with Trump at the club, the top 25 holders will have access to a VIP reception and White House tour, as well as limited-edition commemorative non-fungible tokens.

Sun said on X that he was awarded a Trump Golden Tourbillon watch by the POTUS.

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Why It Matters: The controversy surrounding the dinner has been escalating since it was announced last month. Democrats and even some pro-Trump crypto enthusiasts have expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the possibility of shadowy buyers gaining access to Trump through such events.

Trump has denied claims that he is personally profiting from the venture.

Christensen, who secured a spot at the exclusive dinner by paying just $1,200, devised a strategy to buy the Trump memecoin and short the exact same amount, resulting in a market-neutral position and essentially just paying trading fees.

Interestingly, Christensen noted that he does not prefer seeing presidents or heads of state get linked to speculative investments.

"If promoting a stock you own is a legal issue, the same logic should apply to crypto. There's too much potential for conflict of interest," he said.

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The post PHOTOS: President Trump Hosts Exclusive Memecoin Dinner As Protesters Demonstrate Outside appeared first on Benzinga.