Trump's foreign workforce, virtual cologne and horrible health inspection
News on the return of Donald Trump's for-profit presidency
Trump Org keeps bringing in foreign workers to staff its clubs and winery
In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said his “very aggressive policy on immigration” is driving away long-time workers, citing complaints from the agricultural and hospitality industries—jobs those businesses are struggling to fill.
At the same time, the Trump Organization has consistently made use of temporary visa programs to hire foreign workers for Mar-a-Lago, four golf clubs and his Virginia winery—filing to bring in at least 1,880 seasonal workers since 2008, including 382 during Trump’s first term, according to Department of Labor data.
The company’s use of short-term, temporary visas has increased steadily in recent years, from requesting 121 in 2021 to asking for a high of 178 in 2024.
Long time!
Good morning (or good whatever time of day you opened this)!
A few longtime readers asked if I’m still reporting on Trump. Yes! I’ve published 35 articles for Forbes, mostly on the his businesses, since he returned to the White House.
1100 Pennsylvania will start coming out weekly-ish, recapping my and others’ reporting, as well as posting stuff that didn’t make it into an article.
1100 Pennsylvania is free, so please share it with your friends and encourage them to subscribe to help reporting on the return of Trump’s for-profit presidency reach as large an audience as possible. Thanks!
Trump Org applies for sweeping trademark covering items from crypto wallet to virtual cologne
On Feb. 24, DTTM Operations, an LLC fully owned by President Donald Trump through his revocable trust and with a Trump Tower address, applied to trademark “Trump” for possible use across dozens of crypto and tech-related products with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
One category of goods and services was “electrical and scientific apparatus,” including “downloadable computer software for managing cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology,” NFTs, virtual reality games with crypto tokens, VR headsets and tools for creating “virtual footwear.”
Trump’s team also outlined plans for a virtual store selling virtual goods like cologne, candy and spirits, along with digital ad services and online marketplaces.
Trump’s Bedminster golf club flagged for 18 health violations in latest inspection—earned lowest grade In county
You can read the article here.
How this scoop came about—
On June 2, Trump plugged Kid Rock’s new restaurant on Truth Social.
A former food writer, I immediately wondered about its health inspection.
That led to the thought to check on the latest health inspections at Trump properties.
Thank you, Mr. President.
A couple days after we published, Trump Bedminster’s GM (who also is an adjunct professor of hospitality and tourism at Montclair State University) responded to an inquiry from The New York Times on the inspection:
“This is clearly nothing more than a politically motivated attack,” the club’s general manager, David Schutzenhofer, said in a statement that bore a certain resemblance to a typical rebuttal by the president and his aides.
“Never before have we witnessed such visceral hostility from the Health Department,” he said, adding, “We operate one of the most immaculate golf facilities in the country, and we take immense pride in our standards of cleanliness, safety and hospitality.”
FWIW, not that a health inspector can’t do their job independently of any political leanings, but there’s no record of this inspector contributing to a federal or state committee and her voter registration is inactive.
All this reporting, but on video
After each article, I join Brittany Lewis on Forbes Newsroom to discuss the reporting.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and see the videos as they get posted.
Who needs hotel rooms and office space when there’s crypto?
Upon Trump’s re-election, I set out to resume tracking who was popping up at his properties. It quickly hit me though that while those appearances might hint at who was trying to influence Trump, the money involved was a pittance compared to his crypto and other tech ventures. To that end—
“The 3 Easy New Ways Anyone Can Funnel Money Directly To Donald Trump’s Businesses”
And as my colleague Dan Alexander reported this week, “Crypto Now Accounts For Most Of Donald Trump’s Net Worth.”
Some more reporting of mine on the crypto front:
“SEC Drops Binance Lawsuit Days After Crypto Exchange Lists Trump’s Stablecoin”
“Trump Media’s $2.5 Billion Bitcoin Bet Mirrors White House Crypto Strategy”
Of course, old school revenue streams continue to be good earners, too:
“Trump Businesses Hauled In $317,000 From RNC In March—Even As Crypto Ventures Soar”
“Trump Store Touts ‘Presidential Gold Note’ As Tariffs Rattle Markets And Gold Prices Soar”
Don Jr. and Eric get in on the act
Is seems to be working out well for them! They could have each earned $20 million since their father took office again, my colleague Kyle Khan-Mullins reported.
https://substack.com/@reeceashdown/note/c-125816543?r=5qrbeg&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action