Donald Trump’s former White House aide is under fire after a video showed him claiming to distribute fake money to homeless people so that they will be arrested when they spend it.
Johnny McEntee, formerly the White House Presidential Personnel Office under the former president, posted a video on TikTok in which he discusses the purported scheme to “clean up the community.”
“So I always keep this fake Hollywood money in my car, so when a homeless person asks for money, and I give them like a $5 bill, I feel good about myself, they feel good,” said McEntee, also a senior advisor to Project 2025. “And then when they go to use it, they get arrested, so I’m actually helping to clean up the community and get them off the street.”
Manufacturing prop money for movie purposes isn’t illegal. Passing it as legal tender IS. Note that passing and creating are 2 separate crimes. Notably even though he is giving it away he has specifically stated that the aim of this scheme is for it to be used for commerce by unwitting victims.
you’re applying those terms to the wrong thing.
there’s nothing inherently illegal with saying you’re giving someone fake money so they’ll get arrested.
and trying to use movie money also won’t get anyone arrested.
Actually it is inherently illegal. It’s fraud.
Because like the previous person said, they’re attempting to pass it off as legal tender by getting the homeless person the money so they’ll use it.
that’s not what passing it off means.
you have to actually try to use the money yourself, knowing it’s fake, for there to be a crime in this situation.
What part about giving a person $5 because they asked for it isn’t using the money? They’re asking for real money. You give them fake money, knowing it’s fake. You don’t tell them it’s fake.
Imagine donating fake money to a charity. Same thing.
it isn’t using because you’re not paying for goods or services
Try it. Tell the secret service what you’re doing and then record yourself donating fake currency that you’re trying to pass off as real currency. Just keep tagging them until they tell you to stop because it’s totally legal.
There’s more to transactions than the purchase of goods and services.
Donating money is a transaction. Using counterfeit money to donate while claiming it is legal tender makea the donation fraudulent.
Crawl back under your bridge, mate.
Sounds like he’s paying for something.
Which is what he is doing when he gives it to the homeless person. Assuming we can take him at his word that he actually does this, of course, and with Trumpists, that’s a big if.
Look at that goalpost move!
A difference of opinion on subjective semantics is not inherently “moving the goalposts” IMO.
What if there’s gold fringe on the flag?