What to Do Wednesday
Your Weekly Guide to Staying Politically Active—From Abroad
Wednesday 8 July 2026
Trump’s $2.2 Billion Grift – and How We Fight Back
This week, Donald Trump quietly filed a 927‑page financial disclosure that should be front‑page news in every democracy‑loving household.
According to his own report, Trump raked in roughly 2.2 billion dollars in revenue last year, his first year back in the White House, more than triple what he reported before returning to office. A staggering share of that windfall comes from crypto ventures and Trump‑branded side hustles: a family‑run crypto outfit called World Liberty Financial, meme coins and “celebration coins,” and a growing catalog of Trump‑stamped products that live and die on his political brand.
While families at home and abroad wrestle with rising costs, the president is turning the Oval Office into a profit center.
This is not just bad optics. It’s a fundamental clash with the most basic anti‑corruption principle we teach in civics: public office is a public trust, not a get‑rich‑quick scheme. Ethics experts and watchdogs are warning that Trump’s billion‑plus in crypto and licensing revenue, earned while wielding immense governmental power, raises serious emoluments and conflict‑of‑interest alarms.
The good news: Democrats in Congress are not shrugging this off.
In April, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Chuck Schumer introduced the Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act (S. 4299), to stop presidents and vice presidents from abusing their office to siphon taxpayer money into their own pockets. Another bill, the Don’t Settle for Corruption Act (H.R. 9355)require Congress to approve any Justice Department settlement involving the president, their immediate family, or their businesses—no more quiet sweetheart deals that let Trump or his kids walk away richer for breaking the rules.
Democrats have also proposed new emoluments enforcement measures to finally give teeth to the constitutional ban on foreign government payments, and targeted legislation to stop presidents, members of Congress, and their families from launching or promoting digital assets. Those bills are aimed squarely at schemes like World Liberty Financial and Trump’s meme coin empire, which blend financial speculation with political power in ways our current laws never anticipated.
Trump’s latest financial disclosure proves what we already knew: if the guardrails are weak, he will drive right through them.
That’s where we come in.
As Americans abroad, our ballots have already proven decisive in close races, and they will be again. If we want an anti‑corruption agenda to become more than press releases, we need a pro‑accountability majority in Congress that will:
- Pass the Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act and the Don’t Settle for Corruption Act
- Strengthen and enforce the Emoluments Clause, including against crypto and foreign‑money schemes
- Hold public hearings on Trump’s 2.2 billion dollar windfall and the conflicts of interest it creates
Here’s What To Do This Week (WTDW):
- Check your registration and ballot request now. Visit VoteFromAbroad.org to make sure you are registered and have requested your ballot for 2026. Don’t wait until the next crisis headline.
- Call or email your members of Congress. Tell them you support the anti‑corruption bills targeting presidential profiteering and crypto grift, and that you expect them to defend the principle that no president is above ethics and the law. Here is an email template that you can use to write to your Senators and Representatives.
- Forward this email to another American abroad and ask them to request their ballot and reach out to their members of Congress. When it comes to voting and getting involved, nothing works better than friends talking to friends and colleagues. Studies show people are far more likely to act on information and reminders from those they already trust, especially family and close friends.”
Trump’s disclosure shows a president treating the United States like a personal business opportunity. Our job is to remind him and every official that the real bosses are voters like us.
‘To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history.
-President Barak Obama
In solidarity,
Leyani Redditi
Chair
Democrats Abroad Italy
Democrats Abroad Italy Events
Join our DA Italy leadership team at our DA Italy Monthly Country Committee Meeting July 10 @09:00
Be the reason a US Citizen is able to cast their ballots! Train to become a Voting Assistant Volunteer!
- Module 1: Voter Registration & Ballot Request Wednesday 15 July @18:00
- Module 1: Voter Registration & Ballot Request Saturday 1 August @10:00
- Module 1: Voter Registration & Ballot Request Wednesday 5 August @18:00
- Module 2: Ballot Receipt & Return Saturday 5 September @10:00
- Module 2: Ballot Receipt & Return Wednesday 9 September @18:00
Global Democrats Abroad Events
Join Democrats Abroad Germany on Saturday, September 26, in Munich for the Annual Democrats Abroad Oktoberfest Extravaganza! Democrats Abroad Oktoberfest 2026
P.S. Here we are again asking you to request your ballot now at VoteFromAbroad.org if you haven't done so already! If you need any help with the form or aren’t sure what to do, click below to send us an email and we’ll walk you through it. And if you’ve already requested your ballot, click the button below and tell us so we can count you toward our goal. Help us get at least 25% of Dems Abroad Italy members ballot‑ready by the end of July!