Donald Trump hyped a "major announcement" that turned out to be a commercial for digital trading cards, which some saw as a sign he's "losing the plot."
The former president, who announced he would run again for re-election in 2024, promoted his $99 non-fungible tokens that enter buyers into a sweepstakes to win prizes that include golf, dinner and Zoom calls with Trump.
"Would make a great Christmas gift," Trump posted on his Truth Social website. "Don't Wait. They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!"
The announcement was met with widespread ridicule.
"Losing the plot," said Washington Post columnist Philip Bump.
QAnon adherents had speculated Trump would announce he was making himself a candidate for speaker of the House, reported author Mike Rothschild, who noted that conspiracy theorists believed that would be his next step in returning to office.
"Trump's MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT was an NFT collection," tweeted Rothschild, author of "The Storm Is Upon Us." "It's so lame that I'm not even including a screen shot. Congrats to everyone who saw this for the pathetic attention grab that it always was."
"So Trump's 'MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT' was actually just a grift to promote a bunch of worthless trading cards," tweeted conservative Ben Kew, editor-at-large for Human Events. "Even my grandmother knows NFTs are a scam."
"The funniest part of the post-crypto crash Trump NFT drop may just be that there are sweepstakes involved," posted blogger Emily Colucci. "Look what you could win for just $99!"
"I think we might be underrating the odds that the 2024 Trump campaign will be what everyone initially assumed the 2016 Trump campaign would be," tweeted Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins.
"When he announced in 2015, Trump was on a mission to ridicule the establishment," said EpochTV host Hans Mahncke. "Now he's just ridiculing himself."
"Sure, inflation is wrecking the economy, Russia and China are on the move, the culture war wages at home, but at least presidential candidate Donald Trump is offering voters Trump Digital Trading Cards they can buy for $99 each," wrote Fox News breaking news editor Chris Pandolfo. "Get your NFT today!"
"Good lord the former president is hawking $99 nfts of amateurish photoshops of himself," wrote Minnesota Reformer reporter Christopher Ingraham. "I normally try to avoid doing Trump Discourse but this is one of the most cringe things I have *ever* seen."
"Donald Trump just announced a brand new way to steal from his supporters," tweeted comedian Steve Hofstetter.
