John Oliver Accuses Donald Trump of Exploiting Crypto for 'Maximum Profit' While Serving as President

John Oliver criticized President Donald Trump for using cryptocurrency to enrich himself while serving in office during the latest episode of Last Week Tonight.

Returning from the show's summer hiatus on Sunday, July 26, Oliver focused much of the HBO program on Trump's crypto businesses and the financial gains tied to them.

"It sure seems like Trump is exploiting crypto sketchiness for maximum profit," Oliver said.

He also discussed Trump's evolving stance on cryptocurrency during the segment.

"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.

Oliver pointed to Trump's recent financial disclosures, which showed his personal income exceeded $2.2 billion during his first year back in office.

The Trump family made about $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency, making it their largest business, ahead of real estate.

The comedian also referenced ethics attorney Virginia Canter, who argued that cryptocurrency created an easy way for them to make money.

Oliver then examined two of the Trump family's biggest crypto ventures: the Trump meme coin and World Liberty Financial.

He said, "Most meme coins, seemingly by design, basically follow the trajectory of 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.

He further noted that Trump and his wife launched their meme coins shortly before his second inauguration. However, both coins later lost most of their value.

Despite those declines, Oliver said Trump earned $636 million from the venture.

Oliver also highlighted a private dinner Trump hosted for the top 220 holders of the Trump meme coin.

Citing reporting from The New York Times, Oliver said the event offered investors direct "access to the White House in exchange for an investment in one of [Trump’s] crypto ventures."

Meanwhile, nearly one million people reportedly lost money on the token, with combined losses totaling $3.8 billion.

The HBO host then turned to World Liberty Financial, describing it as the Trump family's largest crypto business.

Oliver said one way investors could participate was by purchasing the company's $WLFI governance token, which allows holders to vote on certain decisions while directing 75% of each purchase to the company as a fee.

Per Variety, Oliver also pointed to several business deals involving the company.

The 49-year-old said crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun invested $45 million in World Liberty Financial before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission settled its civil fraud case against him for $10 million, without Sun admitting wrongdoing.

Oliver then cited an Emirati investment fund that reportedly invested $2 billion in the company, earning Trump's business at least $187 million from the deal.

Oliver also criticized the 80-year-old's support for the proposed CLARITY Act, which would shift much of crypto regulation from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

He concluded by arguing that stronger safeguards were needed to address potential conflicts of interest.