# Trump makes major announcement December 15. What is it? {Just digital trading cards of Trump}

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Tags:** trump\
**Created:** [December 14, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531 "2022-12-14T20:28:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 18

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**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/341 "2022-12-16T20:01:34Z")

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> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> The idea that any website he is involved with running efficiently enough to make that many sales in that incredibly short amount of time is simply ludicrous.

> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> 12,000 people bought 45,000 cards in a couple of hours?

I think Elmu bought the whole batch.

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**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/342 "2022-12-16T20:04:37Z")

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Things are going great!

[![](https://i.imgur.com/EilshPn.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/EilshPn.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/343 "2022-12-16T20:06:21Z")

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> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> Just wondering where you heard this.
> 
> \<protip: If it’s from a Trump source, it is almost certainly a lie)

Where I heard this is from the Trump website which has a big sold out sign on its front and is no longer selling them. As to whether this is a lie I think is probably a matter of semantics.

I think the idea that 44,000 of these things were sold to Trump fans at $99 a pop is most likely a lie. But as to whether they were “sold” internally to shell buyers associated with the company? most certainly. They will want to have invoices to show that they actually did what they said they were going to do and sell 44,000 of the 45,000 NFTs off the website. and it is trivially easy to make the purchases shuffling the necessary funds between Ethereum wallets, so why not “sell” them.

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**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/344 "2022-12-16T20:06:34Z")

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> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> So what is the purpose of these cards? I just can’t see Trump thinking this is a good idea for his image.

Trump has no idea what his actual image is, because he only ever listens to people who praise him.

The thought process wasn’t all that involved. Some guys told him they could make him a lot of money, with very little effort on his part, and it involved lots of people buying flattering images of Trump himself. That’s all you need to get a greedy, lazy narcissist on board.

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**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/345 "2022-12-16T20:07:12Z")

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Yeah, I was wondering that, too. The trustworthy-ness of the blockchain comes from the widely distributed and many-owner computing network that does the blockchain calculations. In a traditional blockchain network, the ability to get control of 51% of the servers is almost impossible. A bad actor couldn’t take over the blockchain to make their own modifications. But if the servers managing the Trump card blockchain only exist in the data centers of Trump buildings, then the network has no trust. They can make the blockchain be anything they like since they’d control the whole blockchain computing environment.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/346 "2022-12-16T20:09:56Z")

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> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> 12,000 people bought 45,000 cards in a couple of hours?

I don’t find it at all implausible that they have sold out. There are literally tens of millions of Trump supporters out there who idolize him. All it takes is for one in a thousand to buy one each and he’s sold all 45,000 images.

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**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/349 "2022-12-16T20:20:14Z")

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> [@Peter\_Morris](#):
>
> I don’t find it at all implausible that they have sold out. There are literally tens of millions of Trump supporters out there who idolize him. All it takes is for one in a thousand to buy one each and he’s sold all 45,000 images.

This is a sample size of two, but the people in the screenshot I posted above appear to be NFT fans based on other tweets, but aren’t obviously MAGA. A significant number of buyers might be people riding the NFT bandwagon who don’t care about Trump one way or the other.

In their mind, maybe these become the next Bored Ape\* and you net $100K. If not, you’re out $99 - small potatoes in the speculative NFT market.

\*_Spoiler - these won’t become the next Bored Ape._

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**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/350 "2022-12-16T20:22:10Z")

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I never understood NFT’s and that is what these are? You get a jpeg. Can’t I get a jpeg of a picture anywhere?

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**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/351 "2022-12-16T20:30:32Z")

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> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> You get a jpeg.

You don’t even get a jpeg. You get a URL that points to a jpeg, not the jpeg itself.

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**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/352 "2022-12-16T20:11:25Z")

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Which blockchain these are on is answered in the website FAQ.

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**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/353 "2022-12-16T21:14:13Z")

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> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> ETA: I don’t thing ANYbody will be getting to eat hamberders with Trump, or will get a zoom call, or anything of the sort.

Me, either, not unless they offer him way more than $99.

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**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/354 "2022-12-16T21:32:10Z")

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> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#):
>
> I have a difficult time imagining many marks dropping money on something like this (@ $99 a pop) without a day or two thinking about it.

If I’d had any interest in them I’d have bought one or two when they were announced and I’m not exactly rolling in dough. Look at all the collector’s edition plates, prints and similar objects out there that marks buy up with the ~~expectation~~ hope of selling it later at a profit. Couple that FOMO with the hero worship he elicits and it’s no surprise they sold out quickly.

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**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/355 "2022-12-16T21:34:42Z")

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> [@Moderation in the "Trump makes major announcement \[...\]" thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-trump-makes-major-announcement-thread/976670/4):
>
> Also, I’ve been viewing a secondary market site that has some interesting analytics of the NFT, analytics that I think may have been pulled from the blockchain. Some of these, like the number of unique owners, are germane to conversation in progress.

So non-Trumpy people have seen records in the blockchain which correspond to these NFTs?

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**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/356 "2022-12-16T21:35:24Z")

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> [@Jungian\_Camisole1](#):
>
> I need a word for this feeling that I am experiencing. What would you call being hilariously humiliated on behalf of someone else? This is really…something.

The Germans have a word for it:

_nutzenschotz_ - n. the combination of satisfaction and empathic pain one feels when watching an enemy get punched in the groin.

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/357 "2022-12-16T21:54:08Z")

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> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#):
>
> Maybe there are that many people out there with more money than brains

With this target market, a sawbuck will cover that.

I suspect that the real intent of this is the 10% cut, and that a few of these NTFs will soon go for big money. Super PAC A will sell their NTF to Super PAC B for say, a billion dollars. A month later Super PAC B sells it back to Super PAC A for a billion dollars. No, they are not making illegal campaign contributions, they just really like Trump in a cowboy hat and chaps, and if they have to incur a 10% fee to get it, well, just look at those chaps! Worth every penny.

Just a guess, though it may be that they may be able to donate that much anyway legally.

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/358 "2022-12-17T00:26:03Z")

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It’s also important to remember, especially with regards to the [secondary market](https://opensea.io/collection/trump-digital-trading-cards), that although each NFT initially cost $99, some are worth way more than others.

You might get 1 of 20 identical images of Trump in a suit and MAGA hat making a thumbs up gesture in front of a blue background or you might get a one of a kind gold tinted image of Trump riding an elephant. The latter is going to be worth way more than the former.

According to the analysis on the Open Sea trading platform, there are 72 one of a kind images. Those would be worth way more than most of the other images. If Trump was able to control who got the good ones, if he sold his cronies the ones that could be immediately flipped for 10x their cost, while the rubes are stuck with their lame cards they can barely break even on, that’s some unjust enrichment right there.

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**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/359 "2022-12-17T00:36:50Z")

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> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#):
>
> It’s also important to remember, especially with regards to the [secondary market](https://opensea.io/collection/trump-digital-trading-cards), that although each NFT initially cost $99, some are worth way more than others.

Oh, so it’s like buying a pack of Pokemon cards. Just these are Pudgyman cards…

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/360 "2022-12-17T00:38:35Z")

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I’ve heard them referred to as Brokeman cards

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**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/361 "2022-12-17T01:21:21Z")

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This has all the hallmarks of a classic pump n dump scheme:

1. Investment offering; 45,000 “cards” at $99 each

2. Insiders buy the IPO quickly, showing “there is great interest”

3. Insiders trade amongst each other raising the price (SCARCITY!)

4. Meanwhile, suckers start to buy in at inflated prices. Insiders continue to trade with each other, pumping the price.

5. Insiders sell off all their “cards” to the suckers, at peak prices, and eventually abandon the investment altogether (the dump)

6. Worthless investment collapses with nobody left to pump the price, and the suckers are left with nothing.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/362 "2022-12-17T01:29:06Z")

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Not nothing.

They get a url that used to point to a non-downloadable picture of Der Gropenfuhrer before the website was shut down for non-payment of hosting fees.

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