Trump Sells $99 NFT Trading Cards of Himself, Confusing Allies - The New York Times

Donald J. Trump’s governmental opponents person agelong criticized him arsenic thing of a cartoon character. On Thursday, the erstwhile president made himself into 1 — but with the purpose of turning a profit.

In his archetypal important nationalist determination since opening his 2024 statesmanlike run past month, Mr. Trump announced an online store to merchantability $99 integer trading cards of himself arsenic a superhero, an astronaut, an Old West sheriff and a bid of different fantastical figures. He made his transportation successful a brief, direct-to-camera video successful which helium audaciously declared that his 4 years successful the White House were “better than Lincoln, amended than Washington.”

The merchantability of the trading cards, which Mr. Trump had promoted a time earlier arsenic a “major announcement” connected his societal media website, Truth Social, perplexed immoderate of his advisers and drew disapproval from immoderate chap conservatives.

“Whoever told Trump to bash this should beryllium fired,” Keith and Kevin Hodge, 2 Trump supporters and stand-up comedians, posted connected Twitter.

“Man, erstwhile each Patriots are looking for is anticipation for the aboriginal of our state and Trump hypes everybody up with a ‘BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ past drops a low-quality NFT postulation video arsenic the ‘announcement,’ it conscionable pushes radical away,” they said successful different post.

The integer trading cards outgo acold much than the $20 that Mr. Trump often asks his supporters to contribute.

But Mr. Trump’s run won’t gain immoderate wealth from the integer cards, which helium describes arsenic akin to shot cards but are really nonfungible tokens, oregon NFTs, that efficaciously let a idiosyncratic to assertion ownership of a integer file.

Money from the integer cards volition alternatively beryllium pocketed by Mr. Trump nether a licensing deal, a information that immoderate of his aides acknowledged and expressed interest about. They interest that the determination could dilute small-dollar donations to his statesmanlike effort.

Incentives to bargain the cards see introduction into a bid of sweepstakes to conscionable Mr. Trump oregon play astatine 1 of his properties. Customers who bargain 45 cards tin person a summons to a gala astatine a Trump edifice successful South Florida.

“I’ll besides beryllium doing Zoom calls, one-on-one meetings, autographing memorabilia and truthful overmuch more,” Mr. Trump says successful the video.

The erstwhile president had banked $100 cardinal earlier his statesmanlike announcement crossed respective governmental accounts, but nary of that wealth whitethorn beryllium utilized to concern his candidacy directly.

At the aforesaid time, Mr. Trump’s aides released, to a affable Twitter user, a video of the erstwhile president successful which helium makes promises astir cracking down connected online censorship if helium reclaims his aged office. But Mr. Trump’s nonstop transportation for the trading cards underscored however secondary his run for president has seemed to his idiosyncratic efforts implicit the past month.

For a day, Republicans and adjacent immoderate Democrats speculated astir what Mr. Trump mightiness person planned for his large announcement, assuming it related to his run oregon adjacent the contention for House speaker. The disbelief astatine the eventual announcement was palpable.

The institution selling the cards, NFT INT L.L.C., was founded successful February successful Delaware, according to nationalist records. The trading paper website lists a institution code that corresponds to a mailbox successful a UPS Store successful Park City, Utah.

On the site, the institution notes that it is “not owned, managed oregon controlled by Donald J. Trump” and says that it uses his name, likeness and representation “under paid license” from a institution called CIC Digital L.L.C., which was formed successful April 2021 astatine an code that matches the Trump International Golf Club successful West Palm Beach, Fla., according to nationalist records. Public records amusement that a institution called CIC Ventures LLC, founded successful 2021, has Nick Luna, a erstwhile adjunct to Mr. Trump, and John Marion, 1 of the erstwhile president’s lawyers, arsenic directors.

The website promises that buyers of cards volition beryllium entered successful a sweepstakes “for a accidental to triumph 1000’s of unthinkable prizes and conscionable the 1 and lone #45!” Fine people connected the tract indicates that the sum worth of each the prizes is $54,695 but besides states that the dollar worth for a 20-minute gathering with Mr. Trump astatine Mar-a-Lago is “priceless.” It besides indicates that winners of face-to-face meetings volition person to screen their ain question and lodging costs to get to Mar-a-Lago.

Mr. Trump announced the trading cards by declaring that “America needs a superhero” and promoting a paper that shows him successful a Superman-type pose, ripping disconnected a garment to uncover a superhero costume.

The erstwhile president has agelong been fascinated by the thought of being portrayed arsenic Superman. At his 50th day party, a barroom decorated with a skyline included a cutout of a Superman-like fig with Mr. Trump’s caput attached to the body.

More recently, during the 2020 campaign, erstwhile Mr. Trump was recuperating from the coronavirus astatine Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, helium told aides helium wanted to beryllium brought retired of the infirmary successful a wheelchair, wearing a Superman T-shirt underneath his achromatic formal shirt, with a program to basal up and rip the formal garment open.

Aides talked him retired of it, and his erstwhile main of staff, Mark Meadows, devoted respective lines of his White House memoir to falsely claiming Mr. Trump had ne'er wanted specified a thing.

Alexandra Berzon and Ken Bensinger contributed reporting.