John Oliver went after Donald Trump again. This time, the target was crypto.
The comedian used his latest Last Week Tonight episode to hit Trump for cashing in on cryptocurrency while in office. He argued the president had turned a risky market into a personal payday.
John Oliver devoted a Last Week Tonight segment to Donald Trump’s crypto ventures
Oliver returned from Last Week Tonight’s summer break on Sunday, July 26. He spent much of the HBO program on Trump’s crypto dealings and the money tied to them. “It sure seems like Trump is exploiting crypto sketchiness for maximum profit,” Oliver said.
He walked viewers through Trump’s shifting take on crypto. “Trump realized just how much money he personally could end up making from dealing with a speculative asset because it’s turned out to be a lot,” Oliver added.
To back it up, Oliver cited Trump’s latest financial disclosures. He said they showed the president pulled in more than $2.2 billion during his first year back in office. About $1.4 billion of that came from crypto, he noted, making it the family’s top earner ahead of real estate.
He also pointed to ethics attorney Virginia Canter, who said the market gave the family an easy path to profit. The host zeroed in on two ventures: the Trump meme coin and World Liberty Financial. He likened meme coins to pump-and-dump schemes. “They spike in value when they first come out and then immediately crash with insiders selling at the peak,” Oliver continued.
Trump and his wife launched their coins just before his second inauguration, and both later lost most of their value. Even so, Oliver said Trump made $636 million from the effort. He also flagged a private dinner Trump held for the top 220 holders of his meme coin.
Oliver said the event gave investors direct “access to the White House in exchange for an investment in one of Trump’s crypto ventures.” Nearly a million people lost money on the token, he added, with losses reaching $3.8 billion.
Oliver then turned to World Liberty Financial, which he called the family’s biggest crypto business. As per Variety, he ran through several deals tied to the firm. He said crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun put a total of $75 million into the company before the SEC settled a civil fraud case against him for $10 million, with Sun admitting no wrongdoing.
An Emirati fund reportedly invested $2 billion, earning Trump’s business at least $187 million. He closed by criticizing Trump’s support for the proposed CLARITY Act, which would move much crypto oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Oliver called for stronger safeguards to address potential conflicts of interest. Critics on the right have waved off segments like this as partisan jabs at Trump and the wider MAGA movement.
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