Well, what’s the best way to say it: Former US President Donald Trump sold trading cards of himself, and charges nearly $100 for each card. Good start. However, these are no ordinary playing cards. The cards are only available digitally and are sold as NFTs. As a reminder, NFTs are a blockchain technology that allows digital content to be uniquely traced back to a designated owner.
In this way, digital goods should be able to achieve a significantly higher value, since (in theory) they can no longer be reproduced as often as desired. Or rather, it can be traced which product is the original and who owns it. You can learn more about NFTs here:
more on the subject
What exactly are NFTs?
Back to Donald Trump: It almost seems like a parody. Because just yesterday, the former US President announced that he would make a big announcement. Most expected a political announcement here. Instead, Trump launched own website for his trading cards and published a surreal trailer that is currently making the rounds on Twitter and Co. It’s best to take a look for yourself:
link to Twitter content
Donald Trump as Superhero
The trailer already shows what you can expect from the trading cards. It is always a depiction of Donald Trump in very different situations and roles – his head usually appears photoshopped moderately well on other people’s bodies.
You can see more of the cards on the website. Trump as a superhero, Trump playing golf, Trump as an astronaut, Trump as a football coach. According to the website, these digital cards are not intended as an investment. For $99, the tickets are only intended to serve “individual pleasure.” Buyers only know which card they get after the purchase. A refund is excluded.
There are 45,000 unique cards in total, each motif can have different rarities and there is a maximum of 20 of each.
On the website you can see which tickets were available to buy from Trump.
The announcement immediately caused ridicule on social media. Even conservative comedians Keith and Kevin Hodge poked fun at Trump’s latest stunt on Twitter. Nonetheless, Trump appears to be having success with his cards. All 45,000 NFTs on the site have already sold out, representing a value of over $4.4 million.
Dinner with Donald Trump
In addition to the tickets, Trump also started a raffle with thousands of prizes, according to the website. Every buyer of a Trump card automatically takes part in the raffle. Among other things, you can win:
- a dinner with Trump
- a cocktail hour at his hotel Mar-A-Lago
- a face-to-face meeting with Trump
- a zoom call with Trump
- an hour on one of Trump’s golf courses
- a group meeting with Trump
- signed fan articles
- a gold NFT trading card
In the trailer says the self-proclaimed favorite president
to: I don’t know if that’s a great price, but that’s what we have
. Incidentally, it is not absolutely necessary to also buy an NFT card to take part in the prize draw, nor do the cards increase the chance of winning. Using a written letter of application Interested parties can also get a chance to play golf with Trump for free – well, hope.
Why is Trump doing this?
Trump announced his candidacy for the presidential elections in 2024 a few weeks ago. However, the website notes that the trading cards are not related to Trump’s candidacy. The income is therefore not intended to fill the campaign coffers. Accordingly, it is a private action by Trump.
