Donald Trump isn’t one for half-measures of anything. That’s why there was so much excitement around him posting about a “MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT” that was forthcoming on his social media platform, Truth Social. That announcement is here, and it’s… it’s trading cards.
Yes, for “only” $99, you can purchase digital NFT Trading Cards of Donald Trump in various scenes and poses reflecting his life and career. Presumably, these cards include the preposterously-muscled superhero version of Trump that’s featured in the opening of the promo video he also released for the cards, which manages to make claims that Trump should be viewers’ favorite U.S. president ahead of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington in its first seven seconds.
Attached to the cards are a series of sweepstakes that presumably make buying digital NFTs more appealing to the people who would be interested in buying Donald Trump trading cards. The prizes for the lucky winners include a dinner with Trump, golfing with Trump, various Zoom calls with Trump, and a Mar-a-Lago cocktail hour with Trump.
There’s also the exciting opportunity to win a “gold” trading card “digitally signed” by Trump. So, for those keeping score, one of the prizes for buying some Trump NFTs is winning another NFT.
Crucially, if people buy 45 of these trading cards, the trading card website claims they’re “guaranteed” to gain entry to a Gala Dinner with the former president. This means we now know how much money it costs to have dinner with Donald Trump: about $4,500. The website does not mention if the price for food and drink at the Gala Dinner is included.
It’s a bold strategy by Trump’s team, getting into the NFT space at the exact moment that death bells are ringing for cryptocurrency, AI art is being roundly criticized by artists, and NFT markets are possibly less popular than they’ve ever been. The eye-raising price point has many people on social media claiming that the entire thing is a scam.
Of course, it doesn’t help that many still think that NFTs in general are a scam, making this potential scam delicate and layered, like a scam croissant.
There’s no word yet on whether the Trump trading cards might enter into a playable phase a la Magic: The Gathering, but if it ever does, we imagine that Mar-a-Lago will most likely be available to play as a land.
