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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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Donald Trump's "major announcement" this week was mocked by social media users after the former president revealed that he was unveiling his own non-fungible token (NFT) as the big news.
On Thursday, Trump disclosed the news he had been teasing on his social media platform, Truth Social, declaring that his "official Donald Trump Digital Trading Card Collection is here!"
The limited-edition digital cards, valued at $99 each, are expected to showcase art depicting Trump's life and career. They are meant to be collected "very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting," he said.
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However, the digital trading cards were widely ridiculed by some Twitter users. They included journalist David Leavitt, who called Trump a "scam artist" in connection with the launch, and political science professor Eddie Zipperer, who wondered if the cards were the real announcement or "some kind of meme making fun of Trump."
"Thank God, the digital trading cards are here. It was indeed a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT," conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted.
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On Wednesday, Trump posted a mysterious video online with the caption "AMERICA NEEDS A SUPERHERO! I will be making a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT tomorrow. Thank you!"
The post led many to speculate about what he was teasing, with some wondering if it could be his vice presidential pick or a legal development in one of his lawsuits. Others thought the former president might have been returning to Twitter, which recently reinstated his previously suspended account.
But it appeared almost no one had anticipated that Trump would launch his own NFT—a move that was criticized in light of his third bid for the White House. (NFTs are scarce digital objects created to mint "unique" versions of anything that can be digitized.)
Responding to Thursday's announcement, consultant Daniel Bostic, a former congressional staffer, tweeted, "These are not the actions of a leader who is serious about saving our country."
Others suggested that the NFTs could help Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not launched a presidential bid but is expected to challenge Trump for the Republican nomination.
"If Donald Trump loses the GOP Primary (a pretty big if), we might want to look at the moment where he responded to Ron DeSantis's surge in the polls by releasing a set of weird NFTs to line his pockets," podcast host Dan Pfeiffer tweeted.
Vox correspondent Ian Millhiser tweeted: "Say what you will about Trump's lame NFT drop, but I don't see a lot of reporters talking about Ron DeSantis appeal to the Republican primary's crucial anti-vaxxer demographic anymore."
Radio host Justin Barclay compared the announcement to the Ovaltine scene in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, when Ralphie discovers that a message he had long waited to uncover was a "crummy commercial."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's team for comment.
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