Looking for cash, Trump combines two of his money-making schemes

Shortly before Christmas 2022, Donald Trump raised a few eyebrows with an item published to his social media platform. “AMERICA NEEDS A SUPERHERO!” the former president wrote. “I will be making a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT tomorrow. Thank you!”

Ample speculation soon followed, but few guessed what the Republican would unveil a day later: The “official Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection.” For “only” $99 each, his customers could buy non-fungible tokens, which the candidate described as “very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting.”

This was, to be sure, high on the list of Trump’s cringeworthy money-making schemes, alongside an unrelated pitch that came a year later when the former president sold off pieces of the suit he said he wore while taking his mug shot after one of his criminal indictments.

This week, believe it or not, the GOP candidate managed to combine the two schemes. The Hill reported:

Former President Trump is offering parts of the suit he wore during a debate with President Biden to supporters who purchase a new series of digital trading cards. The Republican presidential nominee announced the new trading card collection Tuesday in a video posted on Truth Social. The new card batch, dubbed the “America First Collection,” includes 50 new images of Trump.

Describing his latest money-making scheme in an online video, Trump said: “It’s really something” — a sentiment that was easy to agree with, though not for the reasons he had in mind.

Part of what makes this striking is the degree to which Trump released a video of himself that made him look like a two-bit carnival huckster.

Just as notably, I’ve never seen a candidate for the nation’s highest office do something like this during a presidential campaign. In fact, it’s important to emphasize that the Republican nominee isn’t doing this to get contributions, because the money apparently won’t benefit his 2024 operation. This is about Trump looking for money to put in his pocket, not his coffers.

But let’s also not lose sight of the larger pattern. The gold sneakers. The Trump-endorsed Bible. The fake university. The board game. The steaks. We’re talking about a politician who appears to meander from one get-rich-quick opportunity to the next, without much regard for merit or dignity.

It’s not a secret that the Republican’s finances are a mess, and a recent Washington Post analysis added, “He is in a cash crunch — personally and politically — and has been unafraid throughout his career to put the Trump name on anything that might yield a stream of revenue.”

When it comes to someone seeking the White House, that’s … not ideal.