Donald Trump has returned to Instagram after an absence of more than two years – debuting a bizarre picture of himself holding a Liberty Bell as he begs his supporters for cash.
The post, uploaded on Tuesday (US time), was the former US president’s first on the platform since January 5, 2021, when he promoted a rally that would eventually lead to his supporters storming the US Capitol.
“I am pleased to inform you that, due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW,” he wrote on Wednesday.
The post was also shared on Mr Trump’s Facebook account and accompanied by two images – both from his series of digital trading cards. One shows Mr Trump holding the bell, while the other shows him as a superhero, wearing a belt that reads “Trump Champion”.
It came several months after Mr Trump teased his supporters with a project he described as a “great Christmas gift”. That turned out to be Trump Digital Trading cards, available to buy for $US99 ($147), feature his face superimposed onto different bodies ranging from a muscular superhero to a cowboy.
In a promotional video, Mr Trump said the artworks pertained to his life and career.
“Don’t wait,” he said. “They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!”
And they were – all 45,000 cards were sold out within just 12 hours as Mr Trump’s followers raced to snap up the merchandise.
Series two of Mr Trump’s NFTs followed what he said was the “great success” of the first launch.
“I could have raised the price MUCH HIGHER, & I believe it still would have sold well, with a lot more money coming to me, but I didn’t choose to do so,” Mr Trump wrote.
“I WILL BE GIVEN NO ‘NICE GUY’ CREDIT?”
The first edition cards were largely mocked and described as “cringe” with Mr Trump’s former far-right aide Steve Bannon even demanding he stopped the posts.
“I can’t do this anymore. He’s one of the greatest presidents in history, but I gotta tell you: whoever – what business partner and anybody on the comms team and anybody at Mar-a-Lago – and I love the folks down there – but we’re at war,” Mr Bannon said.
“They oughta be fired today.”
However, the cars are though to be a major part of Mr Trump’s bid to raise money as he faces several court battles, including criminal charges in New York City.
The Collect Trump Cards website said money raised would not go directly to his presidential campaign, but instead to “NFT INT LLC.”
“NFT INT LLC is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Digital LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates,” it states.
Mr Trump was famously banned from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the fallout from the US Capitol riot. In late January, more than two years later, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta announced it would end his suspension.
Mr Trump waited until mid-March before jumping back on Facebook.
“I’M BACK!” he posted some weeks later. He also shared an old video clip in which he said: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business.”
