CNN contributor Scott Jennings appeared caught off guard this week when asked to weigh in on the ethics of Donald Trump’s namesake meme coin.
Jennings faced the question during Thursday’s CNN NewsNight, where the panel discussed a newly announced gala for the digital currency’s 185 leading investors.
After some hesitation, he told host Abby Phillip that projects with the potential to cause investors significant losses made him “uncomfortable.”
“I don’t like the idea of his name, while he’s the President, being used for things, you know, where people could get hurt – I mean, let’s be honest,” Jennings said.
Phillip responded by noting that “people have” lost money, referring to $TRUMP as “a scam coin.”
“That is trading at $2 right now,” she said. The coin launched in January of last year at roughly $44. Someone who invested $10,000 at the time would now hold an asset worth less than $700.
“Is that right or is it wrong? That’s the simple question,” Phillip pressed.
The discussion centered on a notice posted this week on the $TRUMP website. It promised VIP treatment for the cryptocurrency’s top investors at an “exclusive” dinner, along with access to three VIP guests whose identities have not yet been revealed.
Jennings was pressed on the ethics of the $TRUMP meme coin during Thursday’s CNN NewsNight discussion of a newly announced gala for its leading investors
The 29 top investors in $TRUMP, Trump’s digital currency that launched last year before rapidly losing value, have been invited to a VIP reception at Trump National Golf Club on November 22, according to an announcement on the coin’s website
The event is scheduled for November 22 at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia.
Organizers have promoted the gathering as “the most exclusive dinner in the world,” Phillip noted.
“The top 29 will have a VIP reception with their, quote, ‘favorite president,’” Phillip said, reading from the website. “And the top four will receive an 18-karat gold Trump watch.”
She also highlighted a disclaimer stating that no attendees would have a private meet-and-greet with the President. The notice further said that organizers were not accepting gifts.
“But just a quick reminder: Trump made more than $1 billion in crypto ventures in 2025, according to his annual financial disclosure,” Phillip added.
She flagged a post on X from the official account for elected Senate Democrats that said of the dinner, ‘Another day, another grift by Trump. His self-dealing has no limits.’
“Care to explain, Scott?” Phillip asked. Jennings, a former George W. Bush strategist, has generally been a defender of the administration.
A Politico report published in August said Jennings had sent the White House clips of himself defending the administration as he sought to replace then-outgoing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The role remains vacant.
The reported rewards also include an 18-karat gold Trump watch and access to three unnamed VIP guests
Abby Phillip described the venture as a “scam” before challenging Jennings to defend it
“No, because I really don’t – I really don’t know much about it other than what I’ve read in the press,” Jennings replied.
He added that it was his ‘assumption’ Trump’s counsel was ‘clear[ing]’ and advising him through these sort of ‘arrangements.’
‘And so, I would rely upon them,’ he said.
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‘My other advice is that all of these arrangements, whether it’s this one or anything else, you really, really have to dot all your I’s, cross all your T’s, and anticipate that every single bit of this is going to be investigated,’ Jennings continued.
‘Should you lose control of either chamber.
‘And you have to be ready to be fully transparent about that when that day comes.’
The conservative warned that he did ‘not know what the future holds’ and that he was ‘not in the prediction business’ as midterm elections approach.
‘But on arrangements like this, I think they need to be prepared for a tsunami of investigatory activity.’
Phillip, however, wanted more.
![Jennings said it was his 'assumption' Trump's counsel was 'clear[ing]' and avising him through these sort of 'arrangements.' He admitted the idea 'makes [him] uncomfortable'](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/10/02/18/111612783-16178449-Jennings_said_it_was_his_assumption_Trump_s_counsel_was_clear_in-a-203_1790962970127.jpg)
Jennings said it was his ‘assumption’ Trump’s counsel was ‘clear[ing]’ and avising him through these sort of ‘arrangements.’ He admitted the idea ‘makes [him] uncomfortable’
A disclaimer on the site stated no ‘attendees will have a private meet and greet with the president’ and that organizers weren’t accept any gifts
‘You’re not a lawyer, so I’m not asking you if it’s legal – Is it right or is it wrong?’ she asked.
‘I mean, the President is in office, and he is using his office to help himself and his family make tons of money.’
‘That’s the simple question,’ she pressed.
Jennings admitted: ‘In something like this, people could get hurt. So, that makes me uncomfortable.’
He quickly added that Trump still has ‘a phalanx of lawyers’ that he can depend on, ‘that give [him] advice on what you can and can’t do.’
‘I don’t think they care,’ Phillip fumed.
‘No, they don’t,’ former Biden-Harris comms director Ashley Allison agreed.
‘Because why would they do this,’ added Phillip.
She questioned how a sitting president could make such a move ‘four weeks before a midterm election.’
‘I mean, the Trump family has made $2.29 billion off of crypto. Their investors have lost $2.28 billion. I mean, everybody’s losing their shirts in this except for them.’
Financial disclosures from 2025 show Trump made some $635 million from his cryptocurrency launches in 2025 – less than half of the $1.4 billion he has made from his overall crypto portfolio.
The gathering next month, meanwhile, is the third of its kind, with Trump holding crypto & business conferences for $TRUMP in April and May of last year.
Trump and the White House have roundly denied any claims that his private businesses create a conflict of interest.