ADVERTISEMENT

Opinion: Melania Trump and the art of the NFT grift

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
77,133
58,316
113
By Helaine Olen
Columnist |

Yesterday at 2:21 p.m. EST


For much of the Trump presidency, Melania Trump was something of a enigma. At her public appearances, it often seemed as if she wanted to be anywhere but there — an attitude that, to be honest, could cheer feminists, who’ve long thought the role of first lady is outdated. (Count me among them.) Her Be Best initiative could feel like a coded message of support to the anti-Trump Resistance. The campaign against cyberbullying? Donald Trump was the loudest and proudest bully of them all.
Opinions to start the day, in your inbox. Sign up.
Now, a year out of the first lady role she seemed to tire of before it even started, Melania Trump has stepped up to remind us, courtesy of what feels like a sketchy money grab — the crypto-auction of some of Trump-era or -themed memorabilia and a “unique” Melania-themed non-fungible token — of the true Trump legacy.
This article was featured in the Opinions A.M. newsletter. Sign up here for a digest of opinions in your inbox six days a week.
On Tuesday, Melania Trump announced she would sell to the highest bidder the widely admired white hat she wore when French President Emmanuel Macron visited the White House in 2018. She also said she would auction off an original watercolor painting of herself wearing the hat, as well as an NFT by the same artist, designed to “commemorate the important historical moment and highlight the iconic hat.” The online auction is being conducted not in dollars but in cryptocurrency — specifically SOL, the currency of the blockchain platform Solana.



This is not Trump’s first foray into the world of digital finance. Late last year, she debuted a limited-edition NFT, called “Melania’s Vision,” featuring an illustration of her eyes, also on the Solana platform. The price was one SOL, about $150. (The team behind Solana let it be known in December it had nothing to do with Trump’s choice of its blockchain technology.) She’s also tweeting about bitcoin, wishing it a happy 13th birthday this week.
Image without a caption

Follow Helaine Olen‘s opinionsFollow

Alexandra Petri: Melania Trump’s new NFT is the perfect holiday g(r)ift
No explanation has been offered for why the former first lady has suddenly fallen so hard for crypto and NFTs, a subject she expressed no known interest in prior to late last year. Perhaps she spends her spare time reading up on the investments. Perhaps it’s a passive-aggressive move against her husband, who has called bitcoin a “scam" and said cryptocurrencies are a “disaster waiting to happen.”
But it must be noted — especially because we are discussing a member of the Trump family — that the blockchain is where no small amount of the get-rich-quick energy of the past year is residing. NFTs are the new hot thing, although as wits on Twitter are known to point out, investing in a Beanie Baby also once seemed like a can’t-miss bet. Nevertheless, many investors are jumping in without asking much in the way of questions — if they ask any at all. In fact, in our current go-go environment, it seems all but rude to ask questions. It marks you as an unsophisticated rube.



Taking advantage of the rubes has long been a Trump family specialty. Before becoming president, Donald Trump sold financially desperate fans on everything from dodgy multilevel marketing businesses to Trump University. Once elected, he refused to put his holdings in a blind trust. Lobbyists and governments seeking favor held events at Trump properties in an almost certain violation of the emoluments clause. New York ultimately ordered him to pay eight charities a total of $2 million after he admitted using his charitable foundation as a private piggy bank.
Tuesday’s press release accompanying the announcement of Melania Trump’s new auction said “a portion” of the proceeds — bidding begins at the crypto equivalent of $250,000 — will go to computer science and technology scholarships for individuals who have been in foster care.
How much is that “portion”? We don’t know. Answering questions about all this is not something Trump is very interested in doing. Her office hasn’t responded to me. It hasn’t responded to CNN, either. This does not sound promising.
No one marries someone like Donald Trump by accident. When it comes to this family, the focus is always on the bottom line, and Melania Trump’s latest venture just proves the point. There is no hidden agenda. What you see is what you get.
 
Just setting the stage to sell her noodz after the divorce.
 
Grifting is truly the family business. Yet another destruction of norms. I'm surprised she didn't lift some items from the WH, and try and sell them.
And, of course, she's loudly announced that a portion of the proceeds will go to charity, but won't say how much and to what charity.
 
NFTs are all over the place, who cares is Melania does one? If idiots wait them, that’s their problem.
 
ADVERTISEMENT