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Trump sells out of his NFT 'trading cards' depicting him as a hero, raking in over $1 million: report

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Trump sells out of his NFT 'trading cards' depicting him as a hero, raking in over $1 million: report
Story by kgallagher@insider.com (Kayla Gallagher) • 2h ago
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Former President Donald Trump blows a kiss to the crowd during a rally at the Florence Regional Airport on March 12, 2022 in Florence, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump blows a kiss to the crowd during a rally at the Florence Regional Airport on March 12, 2022 in Florence, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/Getty Images
© Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Donald Trump's recent "major" announcement was that he was selling NFT 'trading cards' of himself.
The NFTs were originally priced at $99 each, but some sold for thousands of dollars.
The cards sold out early Friday and some buyers were entered to win a "priceless" meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
5 controversial World Cup VAR decisions explained: Japan's controversial keep-in, Uruguay's phantom handball

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1 of 3 Photos in Gallery©Getty/ Giuseppe Cacace
5 controversial World Cup VAR decisions explained: Japan's controversial keep-in, Uruguay's phantom handball
There have a number of controversial decisions involving Video Assistant Referees at the World Cup.
The most recent came on Thursday as Japan beat Spain 2-1.
Below, we take a look at biggest incidents involving the technology at the tournament.
Japan pulled off a brilliant comeback to beat Spain 2-1 and book its place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup in Qatar on Thursday, but the victory wasn't without a bit of controversy.

Spain had taken the lead early in the first half through Alvaro Morata, before being pegged back just after the break by Japan substitute Ritsu Doan.

Moments after Doan's equalizer, Ao Tanaka then bundled the ball into the net to give Japan the lead, but the referee initially ruled no goal, as the ball had appeared to go out of play before Kaoru Mitoma cut the ball back to Tanaka.

After a short consultation with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), however, the goal was deemed good.

Though from the angles provided by television cameras, the ball looked completely out, the VAR, Fernando Guerrero of Mexico, concluded that the curvature of the ball was still overhanging the line, meaning, by the letter of the law, the ball was still in play when Mitoma touched it.


After the match, Spain head coach Luis Enrique made the astonishing claim that the photo picturing the ball in play "must have been tampered."

"It cannot be that this photo is real," he said. "It has to be manipulated."

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu disagreed. "There is great technology nowadays," he said. "If it were really out it would have been a goal-kick."



This isn't the only VAR decision to have caused controversy at this year's World Cup.

Below, we take a look at biggest incidents involving the technology at the tournament and explain the resulting decisions.

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Donald Trump's latest campaign stunt was selling non-fungible token (NFT) "trading cards" of himself. Prices of the cards rose from $99 into the thousands of dollars before selling out completely early Friday morning as supporters flocked to the site.

"Don't Wait. They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!" Trump posted on Truth Social at the time of the release.


Trump's "major" announcement came on Thursday when he released limited edition virtual trading cards, which he likened to baseball cards.

Related video: Trump launches NFTs with bizarre claim he was better president than Lincoln and Washington (Dailymotion)


The trading cards, which were licensed and owned by NFT INT LLC, not Trump or the Trump Organization, featured images Trump says pertain to his own life, showing him as a racecar driver, astronaut, boxer, sheriff, and elephant rider.

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One card featuring Trump holding the Statue of Liberty's torch, was selling for nearly $24,000, according to Open Sea. The entire collection has brought in over $1 million, according to reporting by Coin Desk, which will go directly to Trump, rather than his presidential campaign.

There were 45,000 digital cards created and prepped for sale on their website. Buyers were entered into a sweepstakes at the time of purchase where they could win "priceless" prizes, including a dinner with Trump in Miami, a group cocktail hour at Mar-A-Lago, a one-on-one meeting with the 45th president, a game of golf with Trump and friends, Zoom sessions, and signed memorabilia.

Winners of the prizes are responsible for covering their own traveling and lodging costs, according to the project's website. The fine print also states that there is no purchase necessary to enter.


The cards were criticized even by some of Trump's fiercest defenders. Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who featured right-wing commentators Sebastian Gorka and Steve Cotes on his "War Room" show Thursday, said Trump may be "one of the greatest presidents ever," but the person who came up with the idea "ought to be fired today."

"The president should not be involved with this," Gorka said agreeing with Bannon. "Whoever wrote that pitch should be fired and should never be involved."

Michael Flynn, a former national security advisor to Trump, also said on the "Prophets and Patriots" radio show Thursday, that Trump should fire whoever advised him on this "immediately."

The original profit estimate for the creators of the NFTs was around $4.5 million and it is still unclear as to whether Trump will be receiving any sales profits.