President Donald Trump’s ambassadors are begging companies to fork over millions for lavish blowouts in honor of the U.S.’s 250th birthday.
U.S. embassies across the world are scrambling to outdo each other and raising eye-popping sums for splashy birthday bashes, with U.S. ambassador to Singapore Anjani Sinha telling executives at a fundraising dinner, “I need your money,” according to The New York Times.
Trump has dreamed up “the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen” for America’s 250th—a months-long spectacle that is set to include an Ultimate Fighting Championship match on the White House lawn on his 80th birthday in June, the construction of a $100 million towering arch, and an IndyCar race tearing through the capital.
Embassies in Japan, Hong Kong, and other countries are heeding Trump’s call for over-the-top celebrations, pleading with companies for donations. A person familiar with the matter told the Times that the Japanese embassy had already raised $35 million.
In Singapore, Sinha hosted a group of executives for a five-course meal at one of the city-state’s priciest hotels, urging them to out-raise another U.S. embassy in the region that he claimed had already collected $37 million, according to The Times, which obtained an audio recording of the dinner.
“Singapore is a better country than that,” Sinha, whom Trump appointed ambassador after he contributed $1 million last year to a Trump-backed super PAC, reportedly told the room.
He added, “There are better people here making more money.” The gathering reportedly drew executives from American giants such as Citibank, Coinbase, Harley-Davidson, and 3M. Sinha is reportedly planning a rodeo and a Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass wrote a letter to donors saying he was seeking “significant financial support for Mission Japan’s America 250 celebrations,” according to the Times. “President Trump has tasked me with ensuring this celebration in Japan is the greatest celebration in the world outside of the United States.”
Sinha’s dinner displayed logos for Freedom 250, a Trump-aligned group that is orchestrating Trump’s splashy birthday events in the capital and offering donors who give $1 million or more access to the president and other perks, according to the Times, though Freedom 250 denied being involved in Sinha’s fundraiser. A spokesperson for Freedom 250 told the Times that it is not soliciting or accepting foreign funding.
The embassies’ bold fundraising push has surprised some executives and raised alarm among career diplomats, the Times reported.
“I wonder if that is helpful for the image of the United States, given that it feels like you may be buying access,” said Ted Osius, a former diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Vietnam from 2014 to 2017. “We certainly avoided in the past any hint that we might be treating people differently based on how much money they contributed.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House, as well as the U.S. Embassy in Singapore and the Consulate General in Hong Kong for comment.
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