What has the Trump family been up to recently?

Deng Tong, Jinse Finance

Recently, the Trump family has once again become a "traffic star," from suing The New York Times, claiming $230 million from the Department of Justice, to the $300 million White House banquet hall renovation project, Trump's eldest son's $500,000 private club membership fee, and Truth Social's plan to launch a social media prediction market platform with Crypto.com... Regardless of external criticism, the Trump family continues to do things their own way, and this reality show starring America's First Family is still playing out brilliantly.

1. Trump Sues The New York Times

On October 16, Trump once again filed a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and several reporters, accusing the media outlet of attempting to undermine his 2024 campaign and tarnish his business reputation. Previously, a federal judge dismissed his initial lawsuit for being lengthy and rambling. The revised complaint, submitted Thursday night, was shortened to 40 pages, less than half the length of the original. Michael S. Schmidt, a New York Times reporter listed as a defendant in the original complaint, has been removed from the defendant list. Also deleted were numerous lengthy praises of Trump, such as calling his 2024 election victory "the greatest personal and political achievement in American history." Consistent with the initial complaint, the revised version still seeks $15 billion in damages.

2. Trump Claims $230 Million from the Department of Justice

On October 21, The New York Times reported that Trump has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to pay up to $230 million in compensation for criminal investigations he faced before and after his first White House term. Trump stated that any decision by the Department of Justice to pay compensation "must be approved by me, and it's really strange for me to decide how much to pay myself." "In other words, have you ever had to decide how much to compensate yourself?" "I have indeed suffered great damage, and any compensation I receive will be donated to charity."

A spokesperson for Trump's legal team said: "President Trump continues to fight all Democrat-led political persecution, including the 'Russiagate' hoax, and the unconstitutional and anti-American weaponization of our judicial system by Biden and his handlers."

In addition to confronting the Department of Justice, several companies have also reached settlements with Trump, as listed below:

• Meta: $25 million
  

On January 29, 2025, The Wall Street Journal noted: Meta will pay $25 million to settle the 2021 Trump lawsuit. After the U.S. Capitol was attacked, the social media platform suspended Trump's account. Of this, $22 million will go toward the construction of the Trump Presidential Library, with the remainder used to pay legal fees and compensate other plaintiffs. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed out: "This looks like a bribe and sends a signal to all companies: corruption is the name of the game." Last November, Trump mentioned the lawsuit. One insider said the president hinted that the lawsuit had to be resolved before Zuckerberg was "brought into the fold." 

• X: $10 million
  

On February 12, 2025, CBS revealed: Social media platform X will pay President Trump $10 million to settle a lawsuit arising from his account being suspended for nearly two years after the Capitol riot. In July 2021, Trump sued Twitter, claiming the ban violated his First Amendment right to free speech. In November 2022, about a month after Musk acquired Twitter, Trump's account was reinstated.

• Paramount: $16 million
  

On July 2, 2025, Paramount Pictures announced it would pay $16 million to settle with Trump, with the money going toward the construction of Trump's future presidential library. Trump had accused the show of deceptively editing an interview with Harris on the "60 Minutes" news program, attempting to "tip the scales toward the Democrats."

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said: "Paramount Pictures bribed Trump to get merger approval... State prosecutors should have these executives who sold out our democracy in court today."

• YouTube: $24.5 million
  

On September 29, 2025, YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle with Trump. In 2021, shortly after the Capitol riot, Trump's account was banned. Although YouTube did not have to admit fault, at Trump's request, it must donate $22 million to the nonprofit "National Mall Trust Fund" to fund the construction of the White House banquet hall. Another $2.5 million will go to Trump's supporter groups, including the American Conservative Union and writer Naomi Wolf.

The above four companies have reached settlements totaling $75.5 million with Trump. If the lawsuit with the Department of Justice is settled, the total settlement amount may exceed $300 million.

3. $300 Million White House Banquet Hall Renovation Project

On October 24, according to The Verge, Trump is demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make room for a lavish banquet hall. Trump said the $300 million cost would not be borne by taxpayers but by private donors, including himself.

The donor list includes some of America's largest tech companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. Among them, Google's YouTube has agreed to pay more than $20 million to the project. Companies in the cryptocurrency sector have also been generous: Ripple, Tether America, Coinbase, and the Winklevoss brothers (Cameron and Tyler are listed separately) have all contributed donations. In addition, defense and telecom giants such as Lockheed Martin, Comcast, T-Mobile, and Palantir are also on the list.

4. Truth Social to Launch Social Media Prediction Market Platform with Crypto.com

On October 28, Bloomberg reported: Trump Media & Technology Group plans to offer prediction contracts on its Truth Social platform, allowing users to bet on events ranging from political elections to changes in inflation rates. The program, called "Truth Prediction," will use Crypto.com Derivatives North America for prediction betting and will allow betting on commodity prices and events for all major sports leagues.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek has established a good relationship with Trump and his businesses. He was one of the first crypto industry executives to visit Mar-a-Lago after Trump's victory last year, and Crypto.com also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration committee. Its parent company later donated $10 million to Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc.

Trump Media CEO and former Republican Representative Devin Nunes said in a statement: "For a long time, global elites have tightly controlled these markets—through Truth Prediction, we are democratizing information and empowering ordinary Americans to use the wisdom of the crowd to turn free speech into actionable foresight." If fully launched, Truth Social will become the first social media platform to natively integrate a prediction market. This move expands Trump Media's business from social media to financial products, allowing users to turn their opinions into bets and view real-time market-based odds changes.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the collaboration aims to combine social interaction with financial prediction, bringing prediction market trading to a broader audience.

5. Trump's Eldest Son's $500,000 Private Club Membership

Trump's eldest son's club, called "Executive Branch," held a launch party on Saturday night attended by at least six members of President Trump's administration, as well as wealthy CEOs, tech founders, and policy experts.

Executive Branch was co-founded this April by Donald Trump Jr., Omid Malik and Christopher Buskirk of 1789 Capital. Other founding members include White House crypto czar David Sacks, crypto investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya.

The club only accepts membership applications by founder recommendation and strict screening. In addition to the $500,000 membership fee, the club will also charge an annual fee, the specific amount of which has not yet been announced. The role of "Executive Branch" in Washington's social and political circles may be similar to that of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during Trump's first administration. The Trump Hotel was once a popular gathering place for government officials, Republican congressional leaders, foreign dignitaries, lobbyists, and business leaders. Prospective members must undergo strict review and approval by the founders, and even though some are willing to pay $1 million to join, membership still requires recommendation and strict screening.

Someone close to the club said: "We don't want media members or a large number of lobbyists to join. We want people to be able to have private conversations comfortably."

6. Other Remarks by Trump

1. Cryptocurrency May Solve the $35 Trillion U.S. Debt Problem

On October 23, Trump said in a private meeting that cryptocurrency has a "great future" and hinted that the U.S. might use cryptocurrency to solve its $35 trillion debt problem. According to leaked video, Trump said: "I would write on a little piece of paper: $35 trillion in cryptocurrency, we have no debt, that's what I like to do." Notably, this is not the first time Trump has hinted at using digital assets to eliminate the ever-growing U.S. debt; he has repeatedly stated publicly that bitcoin could be used to "save America."

2. Trump Appoints Mike Selig to Lead the CFTC

On October 26, Mike Selig posted on X: "I am honored to be nominated by President Trump to serve as the 16th Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Under the President's leadership, America's financial markets will usher in a great golden age and abundant new opportunities. I pledge to do my utmost to promote the healthy functioning of commodity markets, foster freedom, competition, and innovation, and assist the President in making the U.S. the global center for cryptocurrency."

White House head of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence David Sacks said the appointment was an excellent choice. "On behalf of the President's Digital Assets Working Group, Patrick Witt and I look forward to continuing to work with Mike to fulfill President Trump's promise—to make the U.S. the global center for cryptocurrency."

3. U.S. Stocks Perform Well

On October 29, Trump said that Nvidia (NVDA.O) stock hit a new high and the stock market reached a record high yesterday. He noted that all markets are performing well, with almost every market continuing to rise.

4. The Federal Reserve Should Cut Rates Quickly

Trump continued to criticize the Federal Reserve, once again targeting Fed Chairman Powell for being slow to cut rates. In a speech in South Korea, Trump referred to "Jerome 'Too Late' Powell" and said he would not let the Fed raise rates out of fear of inflation three years from now. He expects the U.S. economy to achieve 4% growth in the first quarter of 2026, far higher than economists' forecasts. This statement highlights the tense relationship between Trump and the Federal Reserve.

Conclusion

Since Trump's return to the presidency, his family's ties with cryptocurrency have deepened, continuously binding family business with the public eye.

According to an investigation by the Financial Times, Trump and his family earned over $1 billion in pre-tax profits from cryptocurrency businesses in the past year. The investigation shows that the Trump family's crypto empire includes multiple projects such as digital trading cards, meme coins, stablecoins, tokens, and decentralized finance platforms. Among them, TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins generated about $427 million in sales and trading fee income. The World Liberty Financial platform earned $550 million in revenue from selling WLFI governance tokens, and USD1 stablecoin sales reached $2.71 billion.

It is evident that cryptocurrency has become an important tool for the Trump family to accumulate wealth. Since Trump's return to the White House, he has appointed pro-crypto individuals to key positions to formulate a series of regulations favorable to family wealth accumulation. Trump uses political power to harvest business wealth and then uses business wealth to support political activities. "Trump" is no longer just a name, but a trump card for the family's power to cross from business into politics. During Trump's term, the "First Family" reality show series may continue to play out.