- Gavin Newsom plans to launch “Trump Corruption Coin”, mocking Trump’s Solana-based TRUMP token.
- Trump’s TRUMP coin peaked at $73 but now trades near $8, with critics calling it a cash grab.
- The feud comes as Trump’s WLFI project debuted at a $26B valuation, making the family billions on paper.
California governor Gavin Newsom has taken his feud with President Donald Trump into crypto territory—saying he plans to launch his own meme coin aimed squarely at mocking the former president.
Speaking Friday on the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, Newsom joked that his token, cheekily named “Trump Corruption Coin”, would outshine Trump’s own Solana-based cryptocurrency, Official Trump (TRUMP), which launched back in January.
“We’re about to put a meme coin out and you know what, Donald Trump? We’ll see how well your coin does versus our coin,” Newsom said, half-joking but very clearly aiming to needle Trump. He doubled down by adding: “This is one of the great grifters of our time… it’s just jaw-dropping.”
Trump vs. Newsom: The Meme Coin War
Newsom has been poking fun at the president for months now, even mimicking Trump’s social media style on X, copying his trademark catchphrases. His proposed “Trump Corruption Coin” feels like an extension of that strategy—blending humor, politics, and crypto culture.
Trump’s own meme coin, TRUMP, was hyped ahead of his January inauguration. It skyrocketed from its launch price to an all-time high of $73.43, before predictably crashing back down, as most meme coins do. Today it trades around $8.32, with a market cap of $1.7 billion, still holding the 77th spot among cryptocurrencies, according to CoinGecko.
Meme Coins and Political Punchlines
For those new to the space, meme coins are tokens that thrive on Internet culture—often tied to celebrities, jokes, or trending online narratives. They can explode in value one week and collapse the next, making them both risky and short-lived.
While Trump has promised big things for crypto—easing regulations, building a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and ensuring all future Bitcoin mining happens domestically—critics argue he’s more interested in using the industry to pad his own pockets. Newsom’s move to parody Trump through crypto highlights that critique in a way designed to grab headlines and meme-driven attention.
The Bigger Picture
Interestingly, this all comes just as a Trump-linked crypto project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), made its debut on major exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken. WLFI, which the Trump family heavily backs, launched with a valuation north of $26 billion, with their personal stake reportedly worth nearly $6 billion today.
So while Trump leans deeper into crypto as both a political and financial tool, Newsom’s playful jab with “Trump Corruption Coin” underscores how the meme coin craze has become not just a financial trend—but a political weapon too.
