A MAGA crypto influencer who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Trump-themed meme coins for a private dinner with the president says the experience left him “looking at Trump differently.”
Nick Pinto, 25, told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that he was disillusioned by the event. It was a $370,000 dinner at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia on May 22. He now believes it was more about making money than meeting supporters.
“I look at Trump differently than I did before attending,” Pinto said in a statement.
The pricey event was part of a promotion for the $TRUMP meme coin, which launched in January with 200 million tokens. The top 220 buyers were invited to what was billed as an exclusive, “black-tie optional” dinner with the “Crypto President.” In total, at least $148 million was spent on tickets for the evening, according to Reuters.
Australian program Four Corners featured Pinto in its recent episode “Chasing Trump’s Billions.” It examined how much money Trump and his team have raised through crypto-related ventures.
Pinto is a marketing director at his brother’s law firm. He ranked No. 72 on the $TRUMP coin leaderboard after buying in for $370,000. The top 25 investors were promised an even more exclusive experience, including a White House tour and a “VIP reception” with Trump.
Pinto said he had hoped for at least a brief interaction with the president, maybe a photo or a short TikTok collaboration for his 407,000 followers on the platform.
“I was hoping to maybe do a trend or some short video with him, maybe 15 seconds,” Pinto told Four Corners. “It’s not going to take much of his time.”
But the evening didn’t go as he imagined. In a TikTok video filmed during the dinner, a suited-up Pinto vented his frustration as Trump made a brief appearance. “Trump came, gave a speech for, I think, exactly 23 minutes, and then he left. His helicopter was right back there, left pretty quickly, didn’t stay for the dinner. Maybe he’ll come back,” Pinto said in the clip.
That hope faded. “He came, didn’t eat, didn’t drink water. I don’t think he even used the bathroom,” Pinto later told Four Corners. “He just left immediately on his helicopter. I would say the entire dinner was about making money.”
Outside the venue, protesters held signs reading “America is not for sale” and “Stop Trump’s crypto corruption.”
After the dinner, Pinto posted another TikTok video. This time it was from a Lamborghini that showed the limited-edition freebies guests received: a black $TRUMP cap emblazoned with “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT,” a poster, and a lanyard. “Pretty much all I got,” he said, adding that “they gave it away to everyone, they had 220 bags.” The video has since racked up over 1.2 million views.
When asked by Four Corners if he felt duped, Pinto admitted, “I would say in a way, I do feel like I maybe kind of got scammed because it was definitely false advertising. They did advertise it as having dinner with Trump. And Trump did not eat anything at all — at least just drink a Diet Coke with us or something like that [then] we definitely would not have felt like we were scammed by him.”
Speaking again to The Daily Beast, Pinto said the dinner left him disillusioned. “I have not been able to get the TikTok I wanted to get with the president, and I don’t even want to make a video with him even if he let me,” he said.
Still, he’s hanging on to his $TRUMP coins for now. “I am hoping they announce another dinner or something similar that will spike the price again and I can sell it for more than what I bought it for,” he explained. “If they don’t, I’ll keep holding as I don’t need the funds at the moment.”
At one point, Pinto said his $TRUMP holdings were worth about $480,000. As of this week, the token trades at around $6.26, down more than 3 percent from the previous day.
Pinto, who previously voted for Trump, now says he’s changed his mind. “I wouldn’t vote for Donald again,” he told The Daily Beast. “I may consider voting for his children however, as I’ve met Eric and Donald Jr. and both were humble enough to talk to me. Eric even let me take photo with him on two different occasions.”
