'Too dumb to be corrupt': Donald Trump Jr. mocked over vow his dad isn't a crook
Donald Trump Jr. spoke to News Nation about the family's new mobile phone business, where he was asked about the potential for corruption similar to the TrumpCoin business, which involved a cryptocurrency bearing the Trump brand.
NewsNation's Connell McShane inquired whether the memecoin could create opportunities for conflicts of interest on behalf of the president.
"No. My father would have to be sitting there looking at names on the blockchain. You know, he's not exactly a guy who uses a computer all that much. So, no. I don't think so," Trump Jr. answered.
The answer prompted internet critics to ridicule the eldest Trump son for calling his father ignorant.
National security lawyer Bradley P. Moss translated it: “My daddy is too stupid to be corrupt.”
Film and television editor Michael Tae Sweeney commented, "It's like the Nigerian prince scam, where this stuff is so transparently corrupt in part because they don't really want anyone with half a brain to be exposed to it. The target audience is rubes."
"'Trump is too stupid to profit off this scheme' is a truly incredible defense," wrote services engineer Rod Hilton on Bluesky.
Actress Heather Thomas agreed, "'Don't worry, the president is too dumb to figure out who's bribing him' is where we are now."
"Jr. is starting a new business: Trump Mobile Incitement. Have match, will travel wherever there is kindling," said lawyer David Lurie.
"Trump held a dinner with the top holders of his memecoin—to believe he isn’t personally involved is to live in alternative reality," wrote Timothy Bellman, who works with an international humanitarian group.
Political communications expert Adam Smith pointed to corruption already seen involving the TrumpCoin. "He hosted the holders at a reception at his golf course!!"
Indeed, questions surfaced after President Donald Trump hosted an event for the largest investors in his cryptocurrency and offered them a VIP tour of the White House.
"During the crypto conference, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial’s , to back a $2 billion investment in , the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange," The Associated Press reported last month. "Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested."
“I don’t know anything about it,” the president said when asked by reporters about the transaction on Wednesday.