Trump,
For a Limited Time Only
It’s hard to know what to make of Trump’s entry into the world of NFTs. But his commitment to free speech and limiting the activities of deep state censorship should be applauded.
By Roger Kimball
December 17, 2022
So, Donald Trump had a major announcement on Thursday. It had nothing to do with digital playing cards, about which too little cannot be said. “These limited edition cards,” Trump wrote on his Twitter alternative Truth Social, “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. Go to collecttrumpcards.com & GET YOUR CARDS NOW! Only $99 each!” Ever helpful, the former president suggested that they “Would make a great Christmas gift. Don’t Wait. They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!”
Our experts are divided about the first claim but it turns out that the concluding boast was accurate. I am told that the consignment of 45,000 digital cards (minus a reserve of 1,000 tokens) sold out in a matter of 12 hours. I was told that there would be no math, but if each of those NFTs went for $99, that would have yielded nearly $4.5 million. Apparently, the novelty token quickly lost value—a phenomenon not unknown in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency—but as of Friday afternoon the lot was still valued at more than $500,000.
No, I do not understand it either. The announcement, as the Wall Street Journal noted, sparked widespread ridicule, even among some of Trump’s allies. I am going to draw a veil over this lucrative prank—if it was a prank—simply noting two things. First, most people could not have done what Trump did: that is, they could have said they had a “major announcement” on social media and then revealed that they were selling digital trading cards. But there would have been this difference: no one would have paid the announcement any heed, nor would they have plopped down $100 for images of you dressed as a superhero, smiling on a golf cart, etc. It is part of Trump’s genius that he could do it and rake in more than $4 million in 12 hours.
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https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/17/trump-for-a-limited-time-only/
