An unearthed video of Donald Trump’s new spy chief receiving a lewd award after a man gets slapped on stage with a sex toy has intensified concerns over the controversial appointment.
On Tuesday, the president announced that he had tapped housing executive Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence, elevating a leading figure of his revenge campaign to oversee America’s intelligence agencies.
But as concerns raged over Pulte’s lack of experience and his tendency to use his government position to go after Trump’s enemies, newly resurfaced footage from a 2023 live event added a bizarre new dimension to the promotion.
The event was hosted by Pulte, who was then the chief executive of Pulte Capital Partners, and the internet influencer PP from ThePPShow—a platform that covers news and issues popular with the retail investment community.
During part of the show, Pulte is seated on a chair next to a large green sex toy, which his co-host had earlier used to slap a participant on stage.
“Here is the first ever live dildo slap on the PPLive,” the co-host boasts before slapping the man. “Pulte, look at this f----ng thing!”
“Come on! Harder, daddy!” the man laughs, as he gets another slap.
Pulte is later awarded a novelty trophy, which featured the phrase “Bill Pulte F--ks” on one side and “Only the Young” on another.
“That looks pretty badass,” the 38-year-old Trump loyalist says as he accepts the trophy.
Pulte is the grandson of William J. Pulte, the billionaire founder of homebuilding giant PulteGroup. He currently serves as the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac—positions Trump says he will maintain as he juggles his new role as acting director.
His elevation comes after Gabbard announced last month that she would step down effective June 30 to care for her husband, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
But it was immediately viewed as controversial, partly because Pulte is such a polarizing figure who has used his access to highly sensitive mortgage information to target Trump’s adversaries.
Among them are New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook and California Senator Adam Schiff, all of whom have been accused by Pulte of mortgage fraud.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he feared that the president tapped Pulte as his new spy chief to “use all the information in the intelligence agencies to potentially go after Trump’s opponents.”
Several Republican senators, including John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy, both of whom have since lost primary races after Trump endorsed their opponents, also raised concerns about his lack of experience, as did GOP colleagues Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Thom Tillis.
However, Trump was nothing but glowing in his praise of the decision when he announced it on Tuesday.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” he said in a Truth Social Post.
“During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!”
The unearthed video has nonetheless added to concerns and has given Democrats further ammunition to target the new acting DNI.
“With Pulte’s appointment, Trump is once again filling his administration with loyal foot soldiers at the expense of Americans’ safety and security,” said Democratic National Committee rapid response director Kendall Witmer.
Some social media observers viewed it as creepy, while others were non-plussed.
“At least he’s not a Nazi,” wrote one X user.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Pulte.
