Donald Trump Returns To Instagram And It’s Even Weirder Than You Think
Donald Trump made another strange grab for his followers’ cash when he returned to Instagram on Tuesday for the first time since the fallout from the January 6 2021 riots.
Posting for the first time in 15 months, the former president revealed his second set of NFT trading cards and their ostentatious illustrations.
Trump’s ego was on display as he carried the 2,080 pound Liberty Bell in one card. Another showed the politician in superhero garb, complete with an American flag cape and, inexplicably, a boxing belt that said: “Trump Champion.”
Online, the 2024 Republican frontrunner applauded himself for not raising the price of the collectibles, which sell for $99 (£79.44).
“I hope everyone notices, & I’m sure the Fake News won’t, that I’m leaving the price of the Trading Cards the same as last time,” he wrote, noting that he wants “fans & supporters to make money, & have fun doing it.”
“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,” he went on.
Finishing with another grievance, Trump wondered, “Will I be given no ‘nice guy’ credit?”
Though the cards seemed comical, Trump might be the one laughing all the way to the bank.
His first collection of NFT trading cards, which came out in December 2022, were said to have sold out in less than a day, with CNET reporting Trump and partner company NFT INT made $4.45 million (£3.57 million) in the first 12 hours.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the lowest resale price for a Trump card on the NFT marketplace OpenSea was around $200 (£160).
Buyers who purchase 47 cards (a nod to his dreams of being the 47th POTUS) will also be entered in a sweepstakes to win a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago. The opportunity comes with a $4,653 (£3,733) price tag, however.
Trump’s return to Instagram comes as some surprise. After being banned from Twitter following the Capitol riots, Trump shunned mainstream social media in favour of his own Truth Social platform.
Reacting to news of his New York indictment earlier this month, he wrote: “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”