Trump has monetized the presidency more than any other occupant of the White House

On the heels of the heavily-criticized dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for the top investors of the $TRUMP meme coin, a top New York Times reporter has come out with a stunning breakdown of how Trump has monetized his office.

output: A top New York Times reporter has penned a stunning breakdown of how President Donald Trump has monetized his office to a degree unmatched in American history, according to a report published Sunday.

As part of a broader piece examining the Trump family's financial footprints, the Times' chief White House correspondent Peter Baker noted that the Trumps are hardly the first presidential family to profit from their time in the White House. But he argued that the former president has done more to monetize the presidency than anyone who has ever occupied the White House.

"The scale and the scope of the presidential mercantilism has been breathtaking," Baker wrote.

The reporter listed off the various ways in which the Trump family and its business partners have cashed in, and the staggering amounts they have added to their coffers.

"The Trump family and its business partners have collected $320 million in fees from a new cryptocurrency, brokered overseas real estate deals worth billions of dollars and are opening an exclusive club in Washington called the Executive Branch charging $500,000 apiece to join, all in the past few months alone. Qatar has handed over a luxury jet for the president’s use in his official capacity and also for his presidential library after he leaves office. Experts have valued the plane, formally donated to the Air Force, at $200 million, more than all of the foreign gifts bestowed on all previous American presidents combined. And Mr. Trump is to host an exclusive dinner at his Virginia club for 220 investors in the $TRUMP cryptocurrency that he started days before taking office in January. Access will be openly sold based on how much money they chip in — not to a campaign account but to a business that benefits Mr. Trump personally."

The crypto scheme and the acceptance of the jet from Qatar has drawn heavy criticism on the left and even some on the right. Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer, and Tucker Carlson are just a few of the notable conservatives who have called out Trump in recent days for profiting off of his office.

In comments published by the Times Sunday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted, “The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws that are applicable to the president. The American public believes it is absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency. This president was incredibly successful before giving it all up to serve our country publicly.”

But longtime ethics watchdog Fred Wertheimer disagrees.

“There’s nothing in the history of America that approaches the use of the presidency for massive personal gain. Nothing,” Wertheimer said. He added that Trump is, “in the hall of fame of ripping off the presidency for personal gain.”