For Christmas This Year, Melania Trump Says Give the Gift of Melania Trump

Still working in your Christmas record? Nervous about supply-chain points inflicting bodily objects to reach after December 25? Stumped re: the excellent current in your MAGA-loving nephew? Love the thought of enriching a morally bankrupt assortment of folks? Reader, you will have come to the proper place, as a result of former first girl Melania Trump has the final present thought for you.

On Thursday, Trump introduced that she is promoting an NFT, or non-fungible token, known as “Melania’s Vision.” (The NFT, priced at round $150 a pop, is a “watercolor” of her haunting gaze and consists of an audio recording of her voice, and whereas it’s not clear what the audio entails, we hope and pray it’s her asking “who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff?” on loop.) In a press release, Trump mentioned the providing “embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative.” While a press launch famous {that a} portion of the proceeds will “assist children aging out of the foster care system by way of economic empowerment and with expanded access to resources needed to excel in the fields of computer science and technology,” it didn’t say how huge that portion will probably be; curiously, her workplace didn’t reply to questions from The Washington Post about the precise determine. It could not shock you to study that Melania’s husband, one Donald Trump, just isn’t as beneficiant with the charitable donations as he would have folks imagine; as a reminder, his basis was shut down in 2018, and he was ordered to pay $2 million in damages for “persistently illegal conduct.”

But again to Mel. The digital work is out there for buy by means of December 31, 2021. Next month, by way of her platform powered by the right-wing community Parler, she’ll supply NFTs in a “one-of-a-kind auction of historical importance” that can characteristic “digital artwork, physical artwork, and a physical one-of-a-kind accessory.” And whereas we might by no means dare recommend this complete factor appears like a basic Trump grift, others are considerably suspicious.

Per The Independent:

It’s unclear precisely what worth traders in the NFT are getting for his or her cash. Generally, NFT collectors buy a token of possession that’s saved on the blockchain, connecting them to a photograph or different picture that basically acts as an avatar for his or her funding. The collector then hopes the token’s worth will respect and ultimately entice consumers.

On Ms. Trump’s NFT platform, the tokens will all be linked to the identical picture. While her press launch does state that the digital art work is “limited-edition,” it doesn’t say what number of tokens will probably be obtainable throughout the half-month sale interval starting on December 16 and ending December 31.

Naturally, the announcement that Ms. Trump was entering into the already controversial world of NFT buying and selling fueled a lot of skeptical reactions on social media. On Twitter, Axios fintech reporter Ryan Lawler known as the transfer “the grift of the week.”