Saudi PIF May Push LIV to Curb for Lack of Green

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) may drop LIV Golf.  Surely, they are tired of subsidizing "the product", which has failed to take hold.  

Also, there may be a message for Trump II after his disastrous war of choice on Iran.  LIV used Trump golf courses for a number of its U.S. events.  

An LIV event is scheduled for Trump National from May 7-10, 2026.  It is sponsored by a Saudi Mining Company.  Did Don Jr. or Eric get in on that deal?   They have dozens of their other ventures front-running Trump II's key strategies.

LIV, Golf but Louder.  

Trump II, Don but Mafia.  

Trump's protection racket may be disintegrating, like his frontal cortex.  Only the Crown Prince knows for sure.

General conclusion:  People don't like Louder or Mafia.  And they really don't like Loud Mafia, especially if the protection isn't there.  Take that to the bank.

Leaderboard Day $TRUMP Trading

Trump II brought down the price of VIP access for his $TRUMP meme-coin Dinner Extravaganza.  It dropped from roughly $3 million to $300,000 noted Decrypt.

Deflation exists after all.  

I'll be surprised if Trump II actually attends his event (luncheon on 4/25/26).  He has a war and a Pope to fight as well as the White House Correspondents Dinner that very evening, complete with corporate sponsorship (Boeing, Amazon and Meta).  

What's an Executive Branch Party (4/24/26) at the Executive Branch Club without the top guy with the hip-pity hop dance moves?  

Nelly is the featured performing artist.

Will Trump II don his doctor robes for any of these big events?  Stay tuned. 

$TRUMP Superstar Dinner for Flat Performance

Trump II's second memecoin competition nears the finish line as tomorrow is Leaderboard Day.  Winners get to dine with the President at Mar-a-Lago and "18 Superstars" of the crypto world.

Trump's memecoin received an initial pop from the competition announcement.  It nears the finish line with virtually no change in price.    

We close with the fine print on Trump II's memecoin website:

Trump Memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol "$TRUMP" and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type. GetTrumpMemes.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign or any political office or governmental agency. CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC collectively own 80% of the Trump Cards, subject to a 3-year unlocking schedule. CIC Digital LLC and Celebration Cards LLC, the owner of Fight Fight Fight LLC, will receive trading revenue derived from trading activities of Trump Meme Cards.

May the best "nonpolitical engagers" who desire to purchase political influence win!!!

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU (private equity underwriters) and their new TechGod/Cryptobro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

"This Week's" Undisclosed PEU Guests

ABC's This Week interviewed General Joseph Votel this morning.  General Votel is Strategic Advisor and Board member for DC Capital Partners, a "sector-focused private equity firm that invests in middle market companies in the Government and Engineering markets."  It has one Ambassador and six Admiral/Generals on board.  

This Week also had former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on its powerhouse roundtable.  McCarthy has his own private equity underwriter (PEU) ties with defense focused Albion River..

This Week failed to disclose either man's PEU ties.

Fun fact:  A former McCarthy aide now heads the PEU lobby, the American Investment Council.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

Smerconish Reveals Admiral's Day Job

For the first time since Trump II started his war of choice on Iran CNN host Michael Smerconish shared Admiral James Stavridis' day job as Vice Chairman for international activities and global strategy at The Carlyle Group, a politically connected private equity underwriter (PEU).  Smerconish disclosed this role when he introduced his guest and later in the program CNN showed it on screen.

Smerconish cited a Bloomberg article by Stavridis in their interview.  He did not mention a Semafor story.

Stavridis has been a regular on Smerconish.  I chronicled a number of their nondisclosures over the last six weeks and am glad to see the most basic declaration to have happened today.  I hope they keep it up.

PEU or PEW?

Much has been said and written about Tucker Carlson's interview with Nathan Apffel.  If nothing else, I am grateful it cited the possibility of the U.S. "ending" the Iranian civilization (Trump II's threat) via tactical nuclear bombs.  

The thought briefly entered my mind as I considered the President's social media threat but I discounted the idea as even too insane for Trump II.  The pair called it unChristian.  

They took some time to get to that conclusion, mostly via Christian theology combined with investigative journalism.  Tucker setup his guest:

Carlson began with discounting the Western corporate mantra, measurement matters and is nearly the only thing that does.  "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it" has always been bunk.  There is underlying management theory, just as there is theology.  Tucker and his guest tackled Christian theology.

The host made room for people being wrong but being in the right celestial/cognitive neighborhood.  (This is the spot in the interview where Peter Thiel came to mind with his recent anti-Christ views.)

The pair talked about Jesus' charge to his disciples to go into the world and spread the good news (what eventually became the Gospels in the Bible).  

Tucker Carlson cut his teeth inspiring revolutions, not necessarily the peaceful kind.  I wondered if this was an "announcer call" for committed followers.  If so, followers of what?  

The focus was on institutions, church and government.  It had a Grover Norquist/DOGE ring to it.  People are taking advantage of institutions for earthly gains and that should be stopped immediately.

Letting go is a key for individual religious transformation.  It may be key for corporations today pursuing AI, but corporations typically wish to control things vs. freeing them up.  TechGods are disruptors, regularly killing professions and whole industries.

Apffel cited globalism and competition for consumers as factors influencing nonprofits and religious institutions.  That has a familiar ring as private equity underwriters (PEU) sent U.S. jobs overseas (mostly to Asia)  while expanding internationally.  Pick a PEU and check out their global office locations.

The filmmaker noted that corrupt religious organizations usually have an appealing mission that brings in donor money and diverts attention from sketchy or unethical business practices.  Sam Bankman-Fried's "effective altruism" and Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein's "patriotic philanthropy" came to mind as Apffel spoke.

They delved into Christian Zionism and what drives that belief system.  Religions are not governments and governments aren't religions.  Conflating the two is problematic.   

The interview closed with talk of the anti-Christ.  Apffel suggested it would come as institutional power.  He located it in the church with the use of the word "pew."

To what are people chained to today?  Many things, but certainly our phones and social media apps stand at the top of the list.  People are also chained to their jobs, where executives and company investors seemingly have all the resources of the world.  I'd say the church has competition on many of these anti-Christ parameters.  

Each of these two men have every right to wrestle with the Good Book and its application to the present day.  I am not criticizing their theology.  My father, were he still alive, could have done that as an Episcopal minister who taught Clinical Pastoral Education at a major teaching hospital.

I can observe Tucker Carlson's addressing someone he found wrong in the past, religion wise.

Lord, have mercy upon us all.  Help us to love our neighbor and love you, our God.  Some days it's darned hard given our neighbors.

Headlines Divert: Trump Boys' Drone Project

Prior to Trump II's Easter meltdown I found an interesting relationship in Aureus Greenway's March 23rd 8-K filing.  It stated:

On March 20, 2026, the Company entered into an Advisory/Consulting Services Agreement date March 1, 2026 (the “Consulting Agreement”) with C&H Capital Inc., a Georgia corporation (“C&H”), pursuant to which C&H was engaged to provide strategic investor relations, communications planning, and related advisory services to the Company in connection with the proposed Business Combination and the Company’s public company investor relations program. 

 Under the Consulting Agreement, C&H is entitled to a monthly cash fee of $5,000 for a 12-month term commencing March 1, 2026. In addition, the Company agreed to issue to C&H an aggregate of 200,000 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), as equity compensation over the course of two years, provided that the Consulting Agreement has not been earlier terminated for cause and C&H remains engaged through such date.

Dominari backed Aureus plans to merge with drone maker Powerus.  The Trump boys have huge stakes in Dominari and likely hold shares in Aureus.  They may even have a stake in Powerus as well (not confirmed as the company is private). 

It is C & H Capital's job to paint the series of insider political connections as "just normal" in America today.  The firm has done work for many companies and a smattering of them are shown in the image at the top of this piece.  Founder Jason Assad and C & H Capital are mostly absent from the internet, other than corporate press releases that show Jason as the company contact or SEC filings which show firms engaging his services.  

There is an interview by Jessica Starman, founder of Elev8 New Media, with Jason.  They discuss the services he provides and how he likes to work with management.

Both Starman and Assad speak frequently about integrity.  Two hundred thousand shares of stock in a Trump sons' backed drone project while Dad asks for a 50% increase in the Pentagon budget (outside the Iran War supplemental) sounds more like opportunity.  

I take it integrity has been redefined since I graduated from Commerce School at a university with a strong honor code.  

Business has been good for Starman, as well.  Elev8 New Media just opened a second office in New York City.  Their new associate is a former Fox News producer on "The Clayman Countdown."

Everybody has to make it in the world today.  Thank heaven I am retired as I could not digest the thin ethical gruel being served up by private equity underwriters (PEU), TechGods, their sponsored politicians and connected insiders, seemingly front-running everything.

I would have covered this sooner but Trump II's "F-in'" and "civilization ending" statements required focused attention, specifically an Easter letter to my Congressman and watching Tucker Carlson's interview with filmmaker Nathan Apffel.  Everybody has a role to play, especially the guys with television studios.

God bless us all.

Trump II to End Iranian Civilization: Fast or Slow?

Trump II latest savage whim offered Iran leaders the option of ending their civilization in one of two ways, fast or slow.  Fast from the exercise of military might.  

Slow from the toxic effects imposed by the private equity underwriter (PEU) ownership and TechGod products that disrupt real relationships and the acquisition/use of actual knowledge.  

PEUs are legendary for manipulating government and siphoning large amounts of cash from federal coffers.  TechGods awakened to this and are now deeply ensconced on the federal tit.

It's strange to think that a country's civilization can end in a special military operation, specifically "not a war" from the U.S. Department of War (Christian but expressly not Catholic version).  The Pentagon is headed by a number of former PEUs and has its own private equity initiative.  

The greed and leverage boys ended ethics in business dealings by being of both sides of deals, getting to value their holdings at whatever they wish and withholding the most basic information from investors and regulators.  PEU Apollo founder Leon Black funded Jeffrey Epstein in a major way for decades.

TechGods did their part to put children at risk.  Meta allowed child sex predators seventeen strikes according to a USA Today piece.  Tech founders know the damage their products do and restrict their own children's access.  

TechGods gave total loyalty and servitude to Trump II and this unholy alliance drives much of U.S. foreign policy.  Take Trump II's Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the State Department Jacob Helberg.  His ethics filing reveals conflicts that cannot be undone.    

While TechGods are new to the overt political influence game, they are a quick study, learning from their PEU mentors.  Both would love access to Iran's economy and its 92 million people.

Admiral and Carlyle Group Vice Chairman James Stavridis (PEU) told Semafor:

There’s always been a sense that there’s a looming tower of Iran out there and there was a sense of, “we’re going to invest anyway.” I think that tower’s been knocked down. Iran could still do damage, they could use terrorism, they could use cyber, they could continue to close the strait. But their capability is reduced to a point where, as an investor, I continue to be comfortable in getting into the region. 

And all of this, I think, ultimately is going to move the Israelis and the Gulf Arab states closer together. Put those two things together, I think the Gulf remains highly investable.

I believe firmly that the people of Iran, in the next two or three years, are going to flip this regime. It’s going to be done internally. You can just feel the discontent. If that happens, the investment opportunities in a post conflict Iran are very high. It’s three times the size of Texas, full of oil and gas, a highly educated population, and a deep sense of history.

Private equity underwriters are not known for their sensing capabilities when it comes to little people.  I worked for several PEU affiliates and employee dissatisfaction soared after we were taken over by TPG and another private equity firm.  The new operating model ignored poor patient feedback and often could not provide the most basic service, like an answerable telephone system or patient supplies for the home.  It also ripped off staff in the area of pay for time worked and reimbursement for miles driven.

PEU sponsors crapified industry after industry.  TechGod customer service is a misnomer.  They are deep inside federal departments with their garbage in-garbage out LLMs.  Employing people is no longer a primary aim.  

So Iran, which will it be?  Civilization destruction today or a protracted adoption of unethical business practices where insiders take all the spoils?  

Trump II the Usurper and his gang of PEUs/TechGods have plans.  

Update 4-8-26:  Tucker Carlson finally got that Trump has been usurping Christianity as a self appointed global monarch who possesses the only set of magic keys to our earthly kingdom.  

Tucker noted the possible use of a nuclear weapon on Iranian civilization, the very people Trump II "intended" to free in his special military conflict.  Freeing "from life" is very different than freeing "to live."   

Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast numerous times and never mentioned Jesus' name.  He stole equity from a large tech company.  Trump II bore false witness to the leader of South Africa.  Applying Christ's gospels to Trump II for five minutes would create a scroll-length list of incongruences for pastoral coaching.  Trump would not tolerate such gross insubordination.  

After Carlson's warning, which likely arose from powerful Christian elements within the Red Team, Trump agreed to a two week cease fire.  

This morning Trump II noted there is "big money to be made" in the Persian Gulf.  We'll see if the "slow loss" of Iranian civilization under the TechGod Age holds or if Trump returns to his prior fast "Stone Age/Civilization Ending" position.  

Vance: Trump's New Fraud Czar

Trump II gave Vice President J.D. Vance a highly whittled down job, fraud czar.  Serious fraudsters received Presidential pardon after pardon in the last year.  Trump II's "Just Us" department carved out white collar and corporate crime for special treatment.  They did after dropping thousands of fraud/white collar crime cases to focus on immigration.

This assignment comes after Iran asked for Vance to negotiate on ending Trump's/Netanyahu's war of opportunity on Iran.  Anything that takes attention away from Trump II is detested and must be countered.  

Vance got his V.P. job after Trump dined with David Sacks and fellow TechGods.  Vance worked for TechGod Peter Thiel before starting his own firm Narya Capital, a private equity underwriter (PEU).

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren, but love affairs come with spats.  Trump II may be the spatiest of them all.  If you think it's tedious watching from the outside, it's sheer hell on the inside.  

Trump is the bringer of carnage, the destroyer of human connection and the thief of even the smallest item of value.  And that is his good side.

Bondi Has PEU Shoulder to Cry On

Loyalty is the one over-riding demand from Trump II and that was not enough to save Pam Bondi's job (Attorney General).  Women fare poorly in Trump world and Pam became the second female cabinet member to be let go.  

It happened in the midst of Trump II's flailing in his horrific war of choice on Iran.  Pam's boyfriend has a substantial shoulder to cry on.  As a private equity underwriter (PEU), John Wakefiled is a member of the elite financial class that sponsors politicians, writes laws/regulations, ensures preferential tax rates and taps Uncle Sam's wallet for massive sums.  

Let's reminisce about Pam's good days with Trump.  The Trump Foundation gave Bondi's political campaign $25,000 as the Florida Attorney General considered whether to bring criminal charges in conjunction with the failed Trump University.  Foundations are barred from making political donations, but Trump did it anyway as rules and laws do not apply to him.

Pam advised Trump Media & Technology Group for a handsome sum, $3 million.  TMTG is in the midst of going nuclear and that may be the private sector job calling Pam so badly.  Trump likes his chess pieces (people) to stay on the board even if they've gone from Queen to pawn.

Trump has usurped law in the U.S. such that his savage whims constitute same.  Pam Bondi did her part willingly.  Now it's her PEU boyfriend's job to reassemble the shell of person that remains.  

A redemption path exists but that takes courage, brutal honesty, the removal of masks/fake language and dropping attachment to earthly things.  It requires placing the relationship with our maker at the very top.  

Pam would have to drop Trump II, the slimy dealmaker who ditched her, the one who entangled her with his demands, financial strings, and damning by feint praise.  He loves you Pam but only in the private sector.  

Carlyle Co-Founder Power100 Honoree

PRNewswire ran the following:

Power100 is proud to announce a featured fireside chat at the 2026 Power100 Honoree Dinner with David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group and host of Bloomberg Presents: The David Rubenstein Show. The conversation will be led by Ken Kencel, Chief Executive Officer of Churchill Asset Management. 

The Power100 Honoree Dinner will take place on May 3, 2026, at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. The dinner is invite-only and attended by a curated group of leaders from across the investment ecosystem who gather to reflect, connect, and emerge as a collective force in shaping the investment management industry. 

Each year, the event is oversubscribed and attended by more than 150 allocators and consultants overseeing collectively over $10 trillion in assets. Yet the numbers only begin to tell the story. What truly defines the room is the convergence of intellect, resilience, and vision demonstrated by the allocators, asset managers, advisors, and industry leaders who participate in the weekend's events.

The last time Rubenstein and Ken Kencel appeared in PEUReport was in regard to Elle Rubenstein's implosion as a board member for the Alaska Permanent Fund titled "PEU Arrogance Beyond Comprehension:  Alaska Big."   

Since then another Rubenstein daughter, Alexa, started Hobe Mountain Partners in Palm Beach, Florida.  Hobe Mountain is a spin off from Dad's Declaration Partners, his home office and Carlyle Group conflict of interest.  

Ken Kencel left Carlyle during a turbulent time (leadership turnover) but remains a friend and admirer of Mr. Rubenstein.  Power100 included a picture of Rubenstein with President Joe Biden.  Biden stayed at Rubenstein's Nantucket estate over Thanksgiving for many years (over a decade).

Remember who else loves private equity underwriters (PEU)?  Our curated group of elected officials, politicians Red & Blue.  They have the intellect, resilience and vision to keep supporting the greed and leverage boys to the detriment of the common person.  

Trump Drone News

The Trump boys plan to usurp Ukraine's drone technology and sell it to the U.S. military (WSJ).  They also are targeting the UAE (Bloomberg).  

And they added another General to their Advisory Board, Lt. General Keith Kellogg, Trump II's former Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia (Defense One).  

Trump II will address the nation this evening.  I expect him to drone on and on.  Will it be another front-running opportunity for his kids?  Highly likely.

TechGods Go Firing: Oracle Up to 30,000?

 

TechGods, CryptoBros and PEUs (private equity underwriters), oh my!  Beloved by politicians (who increasingly are one).

Carlyle Gobbles Up Another RIA

The Carlyle Group will acquire MAI Capital, a registered investment advisor (RIA) rollup,  from Harvest Partners.  

MAI is a gatekeeper, able to steer their account holders into Carlyle affiliated investments.  

As for Carlyle, their most recent annual report states:

...we may cause different funds to invest in a single portfolio company, for example, where the fund that made an initial investment no longer has capital available to invest. 

We also may cause different funds that we manage to purchase different classes of securities in the same portfolio company. For example, one of our CLO funds could acquire a debt security issued by the same company in which one of our private equity funds owns common equity securities. A direct conflict of interest could arise between the debt holders and the equity holders if such a company were to develop insolvency concerns, and we would have to carefully manage that conflict. 

A decision to acquire material non-public information about a company while pursuing an investment opportunity for a particular fund gives rise to a potential conflict of interest when it results in our having to restrict the ability of other funds to take any action with respect to that company. 

Our affiliates or portfolio companies may be service providers or counterparties to our funds or portfolio companies and receive fees or other compensation for services that are not shared with our fund investors. 

In such instances, we may be incentivized to cause our funds or portfolio companies to purchase such services from our affiliates or portfolio companies rather than an unaffiliated service provider even though a third-party service provider could potentially provide higher quality services or offer them at a lower cost.

Individual investors may wish to consider if they want even a penny of their retirement account allocated to opaque, potentially "conflict of interest" riddled private investments.  

Carlyle already holds a minority stake in Captrust, another RIA.  Last year Carlyle purchased Intelliflo, a practice management software suite for RIAs.  It carved out RedBlack, its U.S. subsidiary, from Intelliflo but news sources stated Carlyle is supporting both businesses. 

RedBlack’s team is “excited to be backed in this endeavour by a sponsor with the reputation and credentials of Carlyle.”  

I smell an impending computer conversion.  Oh MAI....

Hegseth: Frontunner in Greed as well as Death?

FT reported that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's broker sought a multimillion dollar investment in defense weapons makers weeks before Trump II started his war of choice on Iran.

The Pentagon is denying this and it has considerable tools at its disposal to reframe stories it does not like.

As Trump II and Hegseth like movie references, the defense investment story will be reframed by Caddyshack.  Trump II is the golfer, Hegseth the groundskeeper and the Iranians are gophers.

"Superior intelligence and superior firepower.  That's all she wrote..."

"You know, someone should invest in that."  

But that statement was not offered by Pete Hegseth.  Hegseth has had one thing on his mind, getting those Iranian gophers.  He is so singularly focused that Pete does not see front-running done by Trump's kids, Jared Kushner, Howard Lutnick's kids, Steve Witkoff's kids, Corey Lewandowski, Tom Homan.....

So clearly Pete Hegseth's wanting to profit from his job, like other Trump appointees, is "entirely false and fabricated."  Spoken like a psyop.  Are you buying?

Carlyle Returning to Its PEU Roots: "Defense/War"

Bloomberg reported on a Carlyle Group leak:

Carlyle Group Inc. plans to launch a fund focused on the defense sector amid growing demand by governments to upgrade their military forces, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

The Washington, DC-based firm has reached out to investors to discuss the fund, pitching it as a way to invest in so-called reindustrialization, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. 

This entails expanding the US’s industrial base and manufacturing. US President Donald Trump has prioritized weapons development, seeking a 50% boost in the annual defense budget next year to $1.5 trillion. 

Carlyle has its roots in the defense industry, having recruited former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci in its early days. He brokered acquisitions of defense firms at low prices as the US Department of Defense cut spending in the 1990s, scoring big profits for the alternative asset manager. 

Carlyle was granted exclusivity to negotiate with the US Army to construct a data center across 1,384 acres at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Carlyle invests in the data center ecosystem and has more than 20 gigawatts of data center capacity under development across the portfolio, including Copia Power.

The Army is seeking public, private partnerships for energy, industrials, supply chains, manufacturing and critical materials.   Everybody wants in, the Trump boys, private equity underwriters (PEU), TechGods, etc.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a former PEU with Flex Capital,  has been meeting with private equity firms to fund a $150 billion infrastructure investment.

The Red Team wants to cut healthcare funding to pay for massive increases in defense spending for wars the little people (voters) do not want as Trump II continues his country acquisition spree.  

  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren,  Increasingly, more are one.  How many will invest in Carlyle's new retro defense/re-industrialization fund?  Surely, Bloomberg's article tickled some interest amongst insiders.

Trump's Iran War: March Good to Two Generals

Face the Nation interviewed General Frank MacKenzie regarding Trump II's war of choice on Iran.  I searched for any private equity ties.  General MacKenzie added two new jobs since Trump II attacked Iran on Saturday, February 28th (other than his recent naming as President of The Citadel).

WestExec Advisors added MacKenzie as Principal on March 12th, while Teneo announced MacKenzie's Senior Advisor role on March 27th.  Another general, James Hecker, was added to the same two firms in the same roles as MacKenzie.

Teneo was founded by Doug Band, Declan Kelly and Paul Keary.  Two of the three left the firm after uncomfortable news broke.

Doug Band left in December 2020 to focus on his family office (generational wealth created in part from PEU consulting).  He broke the Larry Summers "insiders don't say bad things about insiders" rule.

Teneo's connected consultants help private equity underwriters (PEU) who lever political relationships as well as equity.  

Declan Kelly left Teneo in 2021 after behaving boorishly at a fundraiser.

Kelly started his own advisory firm complete with a captive PEU, Consello Capital.   Founder Keary managed to avoid a nasty exit and is currently Teneo's CEO.

The other firm employing the two Generals is WestExec Advisors.  This firm supplied a number of Biden cabinet members, as did Pine Island Capital, another PEU.  WestExec has two former Red Team Congressmen on board.

 Teneo has bipartisan stripes, long a PEU staple in their employment stable.  

Bill Clinton and Tony Blair once acted as paid advisors to Teneo.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  The whole sodden lot wants to remake the world in their favor, not yours.  That's the nation we face.

Update:  The Carlyle Group is returning to its roots and offering a new defense fund (Bloomberg)

Trump II's Loser Meme-coin

Trump II closed the FII Institute conference in Miami with a keynote speech.  He opened his talk by noting that everyone in the audience is rich from the front to the middle to the back of the room.  

The moderator asked Trump about the one leadership quality that is missing in the world today.  Trump said "winning."  He then divided leaders into winners and losers and commented he likes to hang out with losers because it makes him feel better.  

An April 25th dinner with Trump II at Mar-a-Lago is the prize for 297 winners of the his $TRUMP meme-coin holder contest with the top 29 getting exclusive access to the President and his "superstar hosts."

Will Trump feel bad about himself at the dinner because he is around so many winners or will he look at these people as losers for ponying up valuable money for a Walmart steak and no personal time with the President (one attendees take on the winning the first $TRUMP dinner contest)?  

This is the third Saudi investment conference since Trump II was sworn back into office in January 2025.  The two prior events coincided with rising $TRUMP prices.  That pattern held until day 3 of the conference when Trump offered his fireside chat.  Below are three March 2026 screenshots of $TRUMP.  It shows a price of $2.89 on March 9, $3.18 on March 22 and $2.85 on March 29.  

The Dinner Contest boost got $TRUMP as high as $4.25.  Since then its been doing a lot of losing.

Other than its initial blow off pop $TRUMP's short lifetime has been one of decline.  Does that meas Trump II can hang out with himself as a loser and feel better about his winning side (the fees generated by trading)?  Absolutely.

Also, David Sacks and his fellow TechGods think Trump is a winner.  Trump told the FII  crowd that AI is the place for investment money but cautioned.  "You better hope that it works."

Spoken like a real winner....

"Trump's playbook - built on domination, disruption, and relentless self-promotion—breaks every conventional rule of leadership yet often achieves results through sheer force of will"

Frankly, I am tired of all the winning private equity underwriters (PEU) and TechGods/CryptoBros have had at the expense of the common person.  

I'd offer up a number of "something else's" missing in leadership today, balance, virtue, sharing, relationship, vision, listening, knowledge, empathy, beauty and harmony.

Update 3-30-26:  Trump shifted from slamming losers to stupid people.  RFK Jr. tried to usurp the word empathy and apply it to Trump II.  It did not stick.

More than One Trump Speaks at Saudi FII Miami

Trump II provided a Presidential Address to close the three day FII Priority "Capital in Motion" conference in Miami.  This was the fourth time for this annual event after it was established by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and its Future Investment Initiative (FII).  

Another Trump was on the speaking agenda.  Don Jr. shared his profitable front running of Dad's government strategies.  

Zach Witkoff spoke twice at the FII conference, as did his father Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (each having their own dedicated sessions).  The three spoke alongside a number of other private equity underwriters (PEU)

The elder Witkoff spoke on how power and capital flow, while the younger addressed digital assets and stablecoins.  Jared Kushner is currently raising an additional $5 billion from Middle East countries so it was nice of the Saudis to give him a platform to sell.

Kushner tackled the U.S.-Gulf investment relationship under Trump II's war of choice on Iran, conducted in conjunction with Israel, our 51st state.

Miami is a key city in the Trump economy and former Mayor Frances Suarez had the opportunity to sell it as an investment destination.  Suarez recently changed PEU teams from DaGrosa Capital Partners to Alpha Wave Global.  He celebrated a big Abu Dhabi commitment to Alpha Wave as their new President.

 

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/Cryptobro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  It's a tidal wave of alpha's.