No president in American history has profited off the presidency the way Donald Trump has—and it’s not close. In his first term, he benefited to the tune of millions of dollars in shady schemes, such as foreign governments using his properties for their events. But his second term has been orders of magnitude worse, as we document in this second installment of our series on Trump’s Top 10 Worst. From the Qatari plane scandal to selling access to purchasers of his meme coin to his family members raking in riches, Trump and co. are openly dangling special treatment for those who are willing to pay. The White House denies any wrongdoing, stating “the American public believe it’s absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.” Meanwhile, the president has reportedly increased his net worth by over $3 billion so far during the first year of his second term.
That’s why we’ve had a hard time picking the worst instances of his corrupt self-enrichment, not to mention that of his cronies and family. So if you don’t see your favorite scheme on this list, don’t worry—there are too many! Here’s our latest Top 10 Worst list, followed, as usual, by this week’s brilliant Contrarian coverage.
If these incidents infuriate you, there is something you can do about it. As a paid Contrarian subscriber, you support our efforts to push back against all of this wrongdoing through litigation, such as our complaint to fight the very first gold-plated item on our list.
Trump’s Qatari Boeing
In May, Qatar presented Trump and his administration with a $400 million Boeing 747, ostensibly to use as Air Force One—a present reportedly worth more than all foreign gifts bestowed on all former American presidents combined. As my colleagues and I noted in a legal complaint, the Trump administration is apparently illegally transferring the nearly $1 billion from a nuclear weapons program at the Defense Department to retrofit the jet, a gross mismanagement of key federal funds. And it will barely have time in the air before Trump’s term ends and it gets “donated” to Trump’s presidential library for his continued use. Meanwhile, after the transfer, Qatar got a guarantee that the United States will defend Qatar through “diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military” measures and a new “military facility” for Qatar’s Air Force at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Trump has defended the transfer of the plane as a legitimate “gift” and the White House said that “any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump’s administration is committed to full transparency.”
Current Status: We’re waiting for the Government Accountability Office to act on our complaint—but it’s hard to imagine a clearer conflict of interest.
World Liberty Financial
After the Trump family helped promote cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial (WLFI), it began encouraging foreign investors to buy into the venture. The conflicts of interest have since gotten only worse, as we discuss in our report on Trump’s crypto conflicts. This includes the involvement of alleged fraudster Justin Sun (see No. 6 below). Then there is “shadowy” United Arab Emirates-based Aqua1 Foundation, which invested $100 million in WLFI in June. WLFI also sold its tokens to at least 62 users that also used TornadoCash, an Office of Foreign Asset Control-sanctioned crypto mixing service that the Justice Department alleged helped criminals and hackers “launder more than $1 billion of illicit assets.” The Biden administration sanctioned Tornado Cash in 2022, but the Trump administration lifted the sanctions in March 2025. Donald Trump Jr. has said that the idea that WLFI investors may be seeking favor with the Trump administration is “complete nonsense.”
Current Status: Not only is WLFI—and Trump’s crypto empire—flourishing, but Congress is rushing to pass legislation creating a market structure for cryptocurrency without any checks on Trump’s ability to influence the market to his benefit. Our legal team is working night and day to stop that from happening.
The Meme Coin Grift
Trump’s meme coin represents perhaps his most brash self-enrichment scheme, one unlike anything we have ever seen from an American president. According to the website, the token is “intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol “$TRUMP“—and not as an investment or security. But of course this slice of code was listed on various crypto exchanges and immediately surged in price. Since its launch, the coin’s value closely followed Trump’s announcements, with wild fluctuations. The president even hosted an exclusive dinner for meme coin “investors” who spent tens of thousands to buy the digital token. This access auction was a scheme so brazen—even for Trump—that it left ethics experts like us stunned. The White House denies any conflicts of interest.
Current Status: The Trump-dominated Securities and Exchange Commission has shown zero interest in examining Trump’s meme coin activities. This makes defeating the new crypto market bill even more important. Our fight continues.
Trump’s Foreign Real Estate Boom
Trump is set to more than triple his foreign properties during this term, as real estate developers are working on at least 23 Trump-branded projects. These projects are a global feeding frenzy for foreign governments looking to curry favor with the president. To take only a few examples, Trump is building a hotel, golf course, and residences in Oman on property owned by the government. A Saudi real estate firm (with close ties to the Saudi government) is the Trump Organization’s partner in various real estate deals, including a new Trump Hotel in Dubai and a residential tower in Jeddah. In November, the Trump Organization announced a project in the Maldives with the same Saudi firm. The very next day, Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince and Jared Kushner buddy Mohammed bin Salman and announced an “Economic and Defense Partnership” with the kingdom. Hard to come up with better reasons why the Constitution prohibits the president from accepting foreign emoluments. When asked about possible conflicts of interest in the context of Trump’s then-upcoming trip to the Middle East, Press Secretary Karoline Levitt claimed that it was, “ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.”
Current Status: Each individual property may constitute an emoluments clause violation. We at Democracy Defenders Fund include leaders of the team that won multiple emoluments cases against Trump in his first term, and we are evaluating how to fight back now. Watch this space!
The USD1 Binance-UAE Deal
Less than two months after Trump’s WLFI launched USD1, its stablecoin, a UAE state-backed investment firm announced that it would use USD1 to finance a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance, which was then under SEC investigation. In May, Binance decided to list USD1–and, days after the announcement, Trump’s SEC dropped its securities case against the exchange. And then there’s Trump’s treatment of Binance’s head Changpen “CZ” Zhao. He pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023 and got a Trump pardon in October of this year. The White House defended Zhao, criticized his prosecution, and blamed the Biden administration for creating a “war on cryptocurrency.“
Current Status: Expect to keep hearing about this one—especially as campaign season approaches.
Justin Sun’s “Investment” in Trump Crypto
Justin Sun is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur facing SEC fraud charges. Sun loudly bought $75 million of WLFI tokens starting in November 2024. The SEC in March 2025 delayed its fraud case against Sun. Come May 2025, Sun—also loudly—purchased $20 million of Trump’s meme coin, gaining entrance to a personal dinner with the president. The timing and scale of the investments raise questions about whether Sun is trying to buy his way out of federal trouble—and into Trump’s good graces. When pressed about the ethics of the crypto dinner, Leavitt attempted to assuage fears, “I can assure you, the president acts with only the interests of the American public in mind.”
Current Status: Sun continues expanding his cryptocurrency empire while his case remains delayed according to the most recent entry in the court docket.
Tom Homan’s $50,000
In September 2024, before Trump’s election, his future Border Czar Tom Homan allegedly accepted a $50,000 payment from undercover federal agents posing as business executives. Homan reportedly indicated he could assist them to secure government contracts should Trump win—and there is said to be a tape in government hands. After the Trump team took over, the investigation was reportedly closed. Homan says that he did “nothing criminal” and that “I recused myself from any discussions of any contract or any monetary decisions like that….”
Current Status: My Democracy Defenders colleagues and I stepped in, launching an investigation in September. It is continuing and all legal remedies are on the table.
The $300 Million Ballroom Boondoggle
In the middle of the longest government shutdown ever, as federal workers were going without pay and standing in bread lines, Trump ordered the destruction of the historic East Wing to build a massive, $300 million-plus ballroom. Trump says he’s funding the ballroom through private sponsorships. What a kind, altruistic gesture from the corporate donors, who have over the years received billions in federal contracts–and 14 of whom are currently facing federal enforcement actions. The White House has advised journalists concerned about the lack of oversight to, “trust the process,” and said that, “a submission is not required legally,” to tear down the East Wing.
Current Status: A lawsuit has just been filed to stop construction because of alleged legal violations and a TRO hearing is set for next week.
The Executive Branch Club
After his father was sworn in, Donald Trump Jr. and business partners Zach and Alex Witkoff (the sons of Trump envoy Steve Witkoff) and others, launched a new private club in D.C. They brazenly named it “The Executive Branch.” This tacky tavern–whose “coat of arms” is topped by an ersatz presidential eagle–raises serious ethics concerns. Members are lining the pockets of the Trump and Witkoff families with reported huge initiation fees (said to be up to $500,000) plus additional annual dues for the well-heeled to mingle with government officials and their kin–not unlike its likely inspiration, Mar-a-Lago.
Current Status: The venue continues to serve as a potential influence-peddling hotspot.
Amazon Prime Video Presents: Melania
About two weeks before Trump’s inauguration, Amazon Prime Video announced that it was releasing a documentary about Melania Trump—a $40 million bargain for Amazon. It’s hard to imagine Amazon picking up this project at this hefty price point without considering the company’s relationship with the Trumps. Amazon just settled one major case brought against it by the Biden Federal Trade Commission for $2.5 billion, with another potentially even larger case ongoing, and the company is also a large federal contractor (it received another $1 billion in expanded cloud computing contracts in August). An Amazon spokesperson stated, “We licensed the upcoming Melania Trump documentary film and series for one reason and one reason only—because we think customers are going to love it.”
Current Status: The film is set to hit theaters in January, kicking off what promises to be another year of the Trump family’s shameless profiteering off the presidency. Amazon has released a still image of Melania peering out a car window onto a nondescript tarmac—not exactly a $40 million view.
And now, onto a much nicer list…the best of this week’s Contrarian coverage!
Trump & Kennedy’s Healthcare Hell
When Public Health Fails Our Children: Dr. Dara Kass offered urgent medical and personal testimony on why the CDC advisory board’s decision to roll back the hepatitis B vaccine recommendation will be devastating. “[This] isn’t just about one vaccine. It’s that our public health infrastructure has been corrupted by ideologues pursuing an agenda unrelated to public health or science.”
Healthcare Isn’t a Luxury! Natasha Murphy on Looming ACA Deadline: Natasha Murphy, director of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress, joined Jen to paint a clear picture of what a country without affordable healthcare looks like: much like the one we’re already living in, with high potential to get worse. “The reality is, people just won’t be able to afford coverage and will have to drop coverage altogether.”
How RFK Jr. is Making America Sick: Colette Delawalla of Stand Up for Science joined Jen to lay out the damage Health Secretary RFK Jr. has caused to make America anything but healthy again. “We are not in a place to be able to afford more illness.”
Deadly Disparities: April Ryan spoke with Dr. Roger Mitchell, president of the National Medical Association, about medical racism, the Affordable Care Act stakes, and the anti-vax madness. “Trump’s regime is weaponizing public health.”
Excuse Me, Your Racism Is Showing
A Depraved President Attacks Again: Shalise Manza-Young wrote on the new low in a decades-long campaign of racist, xenophobic vilifications. “For all the Trump regime’s inhumane talk of non-white immigrants broadly and ‘illegals’ more specifically, his targeted attack on the Somali community and Omar feels different, more sinister.”
The Meaning of the Birthright Citizenship Case: María Pérez wrote on the Supreme Court reviewing birthright citizenship, an issue constitutionally settled for more than 150 years. “If the court overturns part of the 14th Amendment, the government would have license to restrict where Black and brown people live, what they can own, which jobs they can hold, and who gets to participate fully in public life.”
Trump’s Anti-Diversity Crusade Claims Two Campus Magazines: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf shone a spotlight on the University of Alabama, which shuttered two student-run publications in capitulation to Trump’s anti-DEI agenda—obeying in advance “well before a fight with the federal government had begun in earnest.”
Caribbean Strike Updates
Venezuela, Western Dominance, & Regime Change: Rep. Adam Smith’s Striking Updates: In a must-watch interview with Jen Rubin, Rep. Smith shared shocking details about the September strikes on a Venezuelan “drug boat,” gleaned in part from a hearing with the U.S. commander who oversaw the operation. “We could have easily come in with a helicopter and plucked these two guys off the top of that boat.”
The second strike isn’t the only problem: Jen started off the week by putting those Caribbean boat strikes in a sobering geopolitical and strategic context, in which these extrajudicial killings may lead to another regime-change war of the very type Trump vowed never to start. “We are on the cusp of another unjustified, unauthorized war.”
More Global Trump Chaos
Trump’s “Back to the Future” Approach to National Security: Brian O’Neill analyzed the White House’s newest National Security Strategy, which, he says, reads like a 1930s revival. “Trump has been eager to say, in effect, ‘Where we’re going, we don’t need roads’—no allies, no institutions, no guardrails, just American leverage and will. The problem is that everyone else sees the potholes ahead.”
The Inevitable, Trumpian Betrayal of Ukraine: Tim Mak spoke with Jen Rubin on all things Ukraine, Venezuela, and European allies, breaking down how and why the rift between the U.S. and its closest partners keeps widening.
From Soft Power to Hard Profit on Global Health: Roberto Valadéz wrote on the Trump regime’s replacement for U.S. AID—the “America First Global Health Strategy”—which is not only already incurring a global death toll, but that also does everything BUT put America first in terms of smart policy.
Corruption & Selling Out
FIFA Played a False Nine on Trump: Carron J. Phillips was equally unimpressed with the FIFA Peace Prize and Trump happily accepting the “pacifier on a ribbon.” “The governing body of the world’s biggest sport bent the knee to America’s smallest man.”
Hollywood Stars Flock to Saudi Film Festival: Meredith Blake wrote on the latest spectacle of celebrity hypocrisy to rival the Riyadh Comedy Festival, yet which has strangely brought less flak to its A-list attendees. “To paraphrase Dakota Johnson, things in the U.S. are, indeed, really grim. But a whole bunch of Saudi money can only make it worse.”
Ex-NBA Player, Congressman—& Friend of Epstein?: In this week’s “Offsides” episode, Pablo Torre updated on an ex-NBA player—and ex-congressman—who happens to be in the Epstein files. “People are making choices about what to ignore, when they’re associating with someone, when they’re taking donations from somebody, when they’re using someone’s network to enrich themselves.”
Eyes On 2026 & Beyond
We Say, “Only Voters” Will Save Us. Then We Forget About Them: Laura Brill outlined a key strategy to overcome the voter registration hurdle: bring it to high school civics class. “If the ballot box is the ultimate check on authoritarianism, we need to build and maintain the onramp, and we need to do it now.”
New Year, New Party? Simon Rosenberg on Dems’ Strategy: Simon considered the year past—and ahead, breaking down what the party got wrong, who’s doing it right, and what’s to come. “The reason our approval rating has been low is because Democrats are disappointed in us—not Republicans and Independents.”
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement: This week, we saw protests in Oregon, North Carolina, Bulgaria, Iran, and Honduras, and more. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Culture, Cartoons, Pets, & Fun Stuff
This week, our cartoonists took on Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s murky war crimes justice (The Fog of War by RJ Matson, Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling); the administration’s worst gifts for this holidays (Stocking Stuffers and He’s Making a List by RJ Matson, The War on Christmas by Nick Anderson); and the ironies of Trump calling anything “garbage” (Garbage Man by Michael de Adder, MAGA Jesus by Nick Anderson).
Subject to Debate: Should Stars Like Sabrina Carpenter Respond to Presidential Trolling?: Meredith Blake wrote on Carpenter’s decision to fight back when the White House used her music to promote ICE—and how it differs from the approach of stars like Taylor Swift. “Did she fall for rage bait, or do the right thing?”
Chocolate Chestnut Bûche de Noël: Jamie Schler gives us the recipe for a sumptuous holiday treat and a prescription for moments of joy, beauty, and grace every day.
Contrarian Holiday Pets: This week, we featured a roundup of reader-submitted photos of their pets celebrating the winter holidays. Submit yours to submit@contrariannews.org with Holiday Pets in the subject line to be considered for the second installment, coming next week.
All that amazing content and our pro-democracy legal actions were made possible by your paid subscriptions. Thank you, and if you aren’t a paid subscription, please consider joining our community as one.
We look forward to seeing you on Coffee with the Contrarians on Monday morning at 9:15 a.m. ET. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend. Warmly, Norm
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What’s his personal cut on the gold card visas? And the national park cards with his picture on them? And everything else?
You all are the best. This roundup a bracing reminder of the great, skillful advocates we have, we who show up on the ground in small gatherings and large. Tougher here in Maine right now but, we persevere and are grateful for your sturdy professional leadership!