Lamar Odom, Justin Sun party at Trump’s memecoin gala as lawmakers blast ‘selling access’

While many attendees at President Donald Trump's memecoin gala remained unknown to the public, a few high-profile guests made appearances, including former basketball star Lamar Odom and crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun. 

Those attendees posted on X at the dinner on Thursday, revealing some details and some disappointment about the dinner. The gala was thrown at Trump's golf course outside of Washington D.C. to host the top 220 holders of his memecoin, $TRUMP.

NBC News reported that Odom attended the dinner on Thursday. Odom also took to X to talk up his token and bitcoin, reaching an all-time high.

"I’m just about to pass through security and officially walk into the Trump Gala," the two-time NBA champion posted on Thursday. "Honestly… I’m fired up. Think about it—what meme coin has ever done this?"

Trump's memecoin and his appearance at Thursday's dinner have drawn sharp criticism from some lawmakers who say the president is potentially " selling access " to foreign governments and is putting the U.S. at a national security risk. Lawmakers have introduced bills over the past few months to address those concerns and target the president's "crypto corruption." Meanwhile, Trump's crypto involvement is muddying up lawmakers' efforts to advance bills to regulate the industry, with one specifically focused on stablecoins and the other taking a whole-of-market approach.

Sun, who founded Tron, also attended, according to posts on X throughout the day on Thursday. His involvement in buying millions worth of tokens from Trump-backed World Liberty Financial and news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paused its fraud case against Sun — has also been a concern for lawmakers.

Sun, the top holder of $TRUMP, said he was also awarded the "Trump Golden Torbillon" watch on Thursday. A similar watch goes for $100,000, according to a Trump Watches website.

Others who attended were left disappointed. Bloomberg reported that Trump stayed just over an hour. Social media influencer Nicholas Pinto compared the food to "Walmart steak," Fortune reported.

In a video Pinto posted on X, Trump is shown delivering a speech at a podium and mentions his recent trip to the Middle East. Trump reportedly came back last week after visiting Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and touted trillions of dollars worth of investments.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the dinner during a press conference on Thursday and whether the administration would make the list of the attendees public. She alluded that the White House did not host the event. 

"This question has been raised with the president," Leavitt said. "I have also addressed the dinner tonight. The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner. It's not taking place here at the White House."

Reaction from Washington 

House Financial Services Committee Republican French Hill has previously said Trump's crypto involvement has complicated efforts as he leads efforts to pass a stablecoin bill in the House.

Hill told CNBC on Friday viewed the dinner as "a distraction."

"I view the dinner last night as, you know, whatever, that's to me a distraction from the work I think we need to do for the major big picture macro policy," Hill said.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats accused Trump of "selling out America" during a press conference on Thursday, hours ahead of the dinner. Democrats, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Rep. Sam Liccardo of California, alongside consumer advocacy organizations, blasted the event.

"Donald Trump is selling access," Blumenthal said at the press conference. "He is selling out America. He is selling it to foreign powers. He is putting our national security at risk."

Earlier in the day, top Democrat Maxine Waters of California introduced a bill to address concerns about the president's involvement in digital assets, calling for an end to "crypto corruption."

"Enough is enough," Waters said. "Congress can no longer ignore the biggest scam and abuse of power in American history."