Trump’s ‘big announcement’ turns out to be $99 NFTs of himself
WASHINGTON — It could be the perfect Christmas gift for the Donald Trump fan in your life — a $99 digital trading card featuring the former president in guises including a cowboy, astronaut and fighter pilot.
Trump – who is bidding to win back the White House in 2024 – had been hyping for days that he would make a “big announcement”.
But his unveiling of the collection of non-fungible token (NFT) cards – timed to tap into the lucrative festive shopping season – drew widespread ridicule.
In a promotional video showing him in a Superman costume with laser beam eyes, Trump gave the cards his classic hard sell.
“These cards feature some of the truly incredible artwork that pertains to my life and my career. It’s been very exciting,” he said. “Buy one and you’ll join a very exclusive community – that’s my community. Buy your Trump Digital Trading Cards right now before they are all gone and they will be gone!”
“Remember Christmas is coming and this is a great Christmas present,” he added.
omg this is the promo video from trumps nft card project im dying. this clown. maybe people will now think I’m not making this up!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/4Cx9u3Xe6E
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) 15 December 2022
Buyers also enter a contest to win prizes such as dinner or a round of golf with Trump, as well as autographs and Zoom meetings.
Trump’s last “big announcement” was in November when he declared he would run for the White House again.
But he has since faced major setbacks, including the defeat of many candidates he supported in the midterm elections, growing public criticism from former Republican allies, including over meetings he held with anti-Semites, and several lawsuits against him.
Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs are highly speculative investment vehicles, each backed by a creative work or action, and represented by a unique – or non-fungible – digital token recorded in the blockchain ledger. This new type of encrypted digital artwork has become hugely popular.
The NFTs can be used to exchange representations of physical objects, such as photos or a painting, or digital creations, such as audio files, videos or other forms of creative work. The NFT becomes something like a unique trading card, which can go up or down in value depending on demand and thus be traded for cash or other NFTs, or kept as a collectible with the bragging rights that come with it. (Owning an NFT is not the same as owning the object, and thus a buyer cannot control reproduction or licensing, allowing the underlying work to continue to be reproduced or spread online.)
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
