Yeah, if you peel off Trump's name, the insane branding, and the fact that this seems to have been implemented completely extra-legally, I don't hate it.

The "extra-legally" part is not at all clear. When this goes to court (and I'm sure it will), the administration's argument will probably go something like this: Congress has authorized the administration to issue visas to people of "exceptional ability in business" -- see 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2), for example. However, Congress did not specify how, exactly, the executive will ascertain that ability. The Trump administration believes that making a one million dollar investment in the U.S. demonstrates evidence of business ability, and is using this as a factor for issuing and prioritizing visas.

The EB5 visa, by comparison, has much more clear requirements. It is not sure if this intended as a backdoor to EB5 or a replacement.

> I don't really see why we shouldn't have programs like this if there is vetting

We should, but the program shouldn't be named after a current president. Note that it's an official .gov site, not a .com site.

Also, the payment should of course go to the Treasury, not to Trump or his party.

Same president that had to have his signature on the government issued Covid relief checks.

The payments are not going to Trump, personally. They're probably not going to the government, either; I bet this becomes like the EB-5 investor visa, where you make certain kinds of investments within the US. I admit that the text on the website doesn't make this clear, though.

Text explicitly calls it "donation". By definition that is not an investment.

Why should we have programs that specifically allow wealthy people to cut the line?

Because this program generates $1-5mm of revenue per person in addition to whatever spending and investment that person brings to the country.

It's perhaps "unfair" but it's also extremely pragmatic.

And where is this money going?

There already was such a system with more concrete requirements. It is called the EB5 visa and has a path to green card. What does this new method bring to the table?

It lacked Trump's face and branding.

They are trusted to get food from grocery stores instead of people's backyards.