Former casino executive Jack O’Donnell issued a stark warning on Thursday about former President Donald Trump’s new cryptocurrency venture, cautioning that it could pose financial risks for MAGA supporters while raising concerns about national security.
“He’s going to leverage this presidency as much as he can. I think that’s his top priority, to be honest,” said O’Donnell, who previously served as president and chief operating officer of the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino.
Speaking with CNN’s Erin Burnett, O’Donnell described Trump’s cryptocurrency, launched shortly after his return to office, as “particularly scary on two fronts.” Drawing parallels to Trump’s past ventures, O’Donnell noted, “It’s very reminiscent of the junk bonds that he sold in the ’90s where small-time investors could get in.”
O’Donnell explained the dangers of the volatile crypto market and its potential impact on Trump’s supporters. “The crypto meme coins are incredibly volatile. So, he’s going to actually wind up hurting many of the MAGA people because they’re going to do as they did in the ’90s – they’re gonna want to buy his product, okay, and they are going to suffer the consequence of the volatility.”
Calling crypto coins “probably the most volatile commodity in the market today,” O’Donnell raised a larger concern about how this venture could benefit Trump directly. “The bigger concern, Erin, is that the way the cash moves here, it moves almost directly to Trump,” he said to Raw Story.
O’Donnell compared this to how Trump’s hotels were used during his first administration, alleging that foreign governments and wealthy individuals booked stays to curry favor with the then-president. He argued that Trump’s cryptocurrency could provide a similar vehicle for influence. “A country could go in and buy $10 million worth of crypto coin – Trump’s crypto coin – and he’s the beneficiary of this,” O’Donnell explained.
For O’Donnell, the implications go beyond financial risks for Trump’s supporters. “I think it’s just flat-out dangerous for national security that, you know, that he could be influenced like this,” he added.
O’Donnell’s comments underscore concerns about Trump’s history of intertwining his business ventures with his political career, raising questions about ethics and the potential fallout for those who invest in his latest financial scheme.