Wired: “To win a seat under the crystal chandeliers of the great ballroom at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, the 220 qualifying attendees had to hold or purchase at least 4,196 units of the TRUMP coin—worth about $55,000 at the time of writing.”

“The 25 largest holders will enjoy an even more intimate experience, including a VIP tour and an ‘exclusive reception before dinner with YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT,’ according to the website. To qualify for the reception, these VIPs held around 325,000 TRUMP coins on average, worth $4.3 million as of 1:30 pm ET.”

“The biggest spender, an investor going by the name Sun, topped the leaderboard with around 1.43 million TRUMP coins, worth over $19 million.”

“American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency firm co-founded by Eric Trump, announced on Monday that it would become publicly traded, the latest expansion of the Trump family’s investments across the crypto industry,” the New York Times reports.

“President Donald Trump on Monday praised Qatar for offering his administration a free luxury jet, but current and former U.S. military, defense and Secret Service officials said he will likely have to waive existing security specifications to be able to use the plane,” the Washington Post reports.

“Retrofitting the 13-year-old aircraft to current Air Force One requirements would take years of work and billions of dollars, current and former U.S. officials say. Such a task would be impossible to complete before Trump leaves office.”

Edward Luce: “What can you give a person who already has everything? The usual remedy is something of sentimental value. In Donald Trump’s case, Qatar has found the perfect blend — a $400mn jumbo jet for which he has indicated nostalgia in advance. Trump inspected the plane at Palm Beach airport a few weeks after he was sworn in. Long after he covers the aircraft’s fixtures in gold plating, he will associate his next Air Force One with Qatar’s ruling family. Or so they must hope.”

“In practice, Trump’s gratitude has limited shelf life. Ask Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, whose $1mn gift to Trump’s inauguration and $25mn to settle a meritless libel suit have not saved his company from large threatened fines. With Trump, however, you should never say never. Maybe Zuckerberg will find his own sentimental emolument to secure Meta relief from Trump’s antitrust attorneys.”

Vox: “Trump was elected president in no small part because his campaign’s unconventional wager paid off. His team bet that by focusing on the economy, inflation, and immigration — and by bringing that message to non-traditional media platforms and to places where Republicans typically struggle — they might activate a coalition of the disaffected.”

“It worked in November. But now, his perceived inability to deliver on this seems to be fueling the great unraveling of this coalition. Trump’s overall job approval and personal favorability ratings have steadily dropped, largely because voters disapprove of and distrust his handling of the economy.”