$10 Billion.
That’s how much Elon Musk says SoftBank actually has out of $500Bn that Trump announced would be spent on the “Stargate” AI Infrastructure by OpenAI, Oracle, Softbank, and MGX (a problematic UAE partner). Of course it was $500Bn over 4 years and Microsoft alone already announced they were spending $80Bn in 2025 on AI Infrastructure so – even if they did have the money – it would just be an attempt to keep up with MSFT.
And even if they had the money, where would the components come from? Where would the electricity come from? Where would the workers come from? That didn’t stop Wall Street traders from riding that painted pony to a 100-point gain on the Nasdaq because, if Donald Trump said it – it must be true, right?
Of course, as the song goes: “What goes up must come down” and the Nasdaq is whipping back around with a 120-point drop, pre-market as the difference between $500Bn and $10Bn is 98% which, statistically, should be considered a minor exaggeration by President Trump.
The problem is people (not us!) take his statements seriously and invest accordingly. They buy his crypto coins and his DJT stock (down 23% this week) and money is pulled out of one thing and pushed into another based on statements that have no basis in fact and misallocating funds is HARMFUL to the Economy – SOMEONE should care enough to stop it…
And speaking of stopping “it“, I’m a huge AI fan but even I think this Stargate roll-out seems like just the sort of thing they must have done for Skynet in “The Terminator“. I’m sure it began with all sorts of fanfare and promises of a brighter future – until the AIs got smart enough to figure out that PEOPLE were the greatest problem facing this planet (something we kind of know ourselves anyway).
We will spend a large part of the next 4 years (if we last that long) trying to determine what is real and what is bullshit and that’s going to be tricky when the primary source of bullshit is our own Commander in Chief. Trump told 30,573 lies during his first 4 years in office (1,460 days). That’s an average of 20.94 lies per day and does not include what he said to Melania!
And, by the way, Trump’s meme coins, which he owns 80% of – to be released over the next 3 years – are the PERFECT way for foreigners to BRIBE Trump, simply buy buying his coins through their agents, putting money straight into Trump’s pockets through a fairly anonymous system that becomes COMPLETELY anonymous when the FBI and SEC are told not to investigate it.
🚢 The concerns about Trump’s meme coins as a potential vehicle for foreign influence are based on several key factors:
## Structure and Control
– Trump’s team controls at least 80% of the TRUMP token supply[1]
– Melania Trump’s token shows 89% of supply concentrated in a single wallet[1]
– The controlling companies are Trump Organization affiliates[1]
## Financial Mechanisms
– Foreign entities can purchase tokens anonymously or through agents[2]
– Transactions occur on blockchain with limited transparency[14]
– Trading platforms outside US jurisdiction are already being used by insiders[2]
## Regulatory Environment
– Trump plans to loosen cryptocurrency regulations[7]
– SEC oversight likely to decrease under proposed leadership[15]
– Trump has pledged to make America the “crypto capital of the planet”[13]
## Potential for Abuse
– Foreign governments can buy large amounts of tokens to curry favor[3]
– No requirement to disclose token purchases or ownership[14]
– Token value directly affects Trump’s net worth[2]
– Trading fees alone have generated $58M for Trump’s team[1]
Ethics experts warn this creates an unprecedented conflict of interest, as foreign entities can influence the president by simply trading his tokens[10]. Unlike traditional emoluments like hotel stays, crypto transactions provide near-complete anonymity while potentially generating billions in value for the token holders[4].
The combination of Trump’s control over regulation, lack of oversight, and direct financial benefit creates what ethics watchdogs call “previously undreamed-of potential for corruption”[13].
Citations:
[1] https://time.com/7209169/trump-meme-coins-crypto/
[2] https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-columnist-suggests-trump-may-use-crypto-token-take-foreign-bribes
[3] https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/trumps-crypto-ventures-spark-ethics-probe-over-transparency-and-security-202501230822
[4] https://bylinetimes.com/2025/01/22/trumps-meme-coin-debacle-exposes-a-president-ushering-in-a-new-era-of-institutionalised-grift/
[5] https://www.yahoo.com/news/washington-post-columnist-suggests-trump-020041561.html
[6] https://www.newsweek.com/trump-meme-coin-price-anthony-scaramucci-blasts-corruption-market-cap-surges-2017211
[7] https://www.newsweek.com/trump-meme-coin-cryptocurrency-legal-concerns-2017654
[8] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-new-crypto-coin-sparks-ethics-concerns-2025-01-20/
[9] https://economictimes.com/news/international/global-trends/trump-meme-coins-are-a-disaster-in-waiting/amp_articleshow/117446667.cms
[10] https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/politics/ethics-business-trump-presidency/index.html
[11] https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-columnist-suggests-trump-may-use-crypto-token-take-foreign-bribes
[12] https://www.yahoo.com/news/washington-post-columnist-suggests-trump-020041561.html
[13] https://accountable.us/watchdog-trumps-new-crypto-coin-is-his-latest-grift-but-one-that-holds-unprecedented-potential-for-corruption-at-publics-expense/
[14] https://bylinetimes.com/2025/01/22/trumps-meme-coin-debacle-exposes-a-president-ushering-in-a-new-era-of-institutionalised-grift/
[15] https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-business-ethics-white-paper-foreign-deals-golf-hotels-260a4343d52bb21614f04cfded7fd19a
[16] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoAkDu_Yy6A
Speaking of which, President Trump is going to address the World Economic Forum, where he will be speak to all those Oligarchs who want to curry his favor by buying his coins. He is scheduled to speak at 11am (5pm in Davos). The things Trump says and does not say in this speech can be major market moves – so look sharp today!
So many potential topics: Tariffs, the Ukraine War, Palestine, Project Stargate, joining Russia, Iran, Libya and Yemen in withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords, rounding up Immigrants, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, defunding all Vaccine Research… It’s bound to be interesting.
WalMart (WMT) is embracing Trump’s ideals by raising the pay of their Regional Managers from $320,000-$570,000 to $420,000 to $620,000 a year – a 31.25% bump at the bottom of the range but don’t worry, they didn’t forget the little people – because they needed to balance the scales by CUTTING pay while ending remote work and downgrading their health care plans (one of the new plans will require a $13,700 annual deductible for a worker and their family).
Don’t complain, it takes a very highly-skilled manager to convince hundreds of employees to take that kind of abuse – welcome to Wal-Mart! Stock grants for market managers will increase to $100,000 a year, up from $75,000, while potential annual bonuses will rise to 100% of base pay, up from 90%, a Walmart spokeswoman said.
WMT is now trading at 38.27 times earnings at $748Bn but don’t worry, they plan to take their $20Bn in profits ($10,000 per worker) and use it to develop AI and Robotics solutions that will allow them to lay off most of those workers – just like Uber and Lyft plan to eliminate millions of drivers – so maybe we won’t need immigrants to fill those farming jobs everyone is worried about!
Maybe they said “Make America Grape Again“?
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