2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made himself the target of mockery after declaring on Wednesday he would make a “major announcement” on Thursday, only to reveal it is yet another money-making scheme, digital playing cards.
“Major Announcement!” Trump posted on his social media site late Thursday morning – in all-caps.
“My official Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection is here! These limited edition cards feature amazing art of my Life & Career! Collect all of your favorite Trump Digital Trading Cards, very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting.”
He is selling the cards for $99 each. The disgraced ex-president insists, “They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!”
The website for Trump’s play cards calls them “limited edition” NFTs but does not appear to state how many will be made available for purchase.
“With Every Digital Collectible you Buy, You’re entered into the Trump Sweepstakes,” the website claims, trumpeting “1000’s of Prizes!”
“Buy 45 digital trading cards and you are guaranteed a ticket to a dinner with the president,” it adds.
Some mocked Trump and those who believed the “major announcement” might be declaring who he will pick as his vice presidential running mate.
Prominent national security attorney Brad Moss tweeted, “This has to be a joke, right? That’s the announcement? Another grifting scam?”
Former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski observed: “The best thing about this is that the MAGA ecosystem went into overdrive yesterday when he teased a ‘big announcement.’ His VP pick? Speaker of the House? A new lawsuit? Teaming up with Musk? Nope, Trump superhero trading cards.”
Mary Trump, a psychologist and the ex-president’s niece added, “omfg” and, “wtaf.”
The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer posted a few screenshots of the NFTs, calling them “ugly.”
Data journalist Christopher Ingraham called them “amateurish” and “cringe.”
SiriusXM Progress host Dean Obeidallah declared Trump “done” after the “major announcement.”
“Trump is done,” he tweeted. “This is his way of winding down like a company that has dissolved itself.”
Vox legal expert Ian Millhiser summed up the ex-president’s scheme.
“Trump trying to sell an NFT drop to his most loyal supporters at the very moment that it is obvious to everyone that the entire crypto and crypto-adjacent industry is a huge scam is.. the most on brand thing I’ve ever seen.”