Melania Trump's 2022 Resolution: Grift Like There's No Tomorrow

[Celerity]

The former first lady is once again asking people to give her money.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/melania-trump-hat-nft-auction



When Melania Trump announced last month that that she was getting into the NFT business, starting with a digital “watercolor” of her eyes and then expanding her offerings to include other non-fungible tokens for sale via a “one-of-a-kind auction of historical importance,” ours and many people’s initial response was “What?” When had the former first lady ever expressed an iota of interest in blockchain technology? Why was she flooding the universe with portraits of her chilling gaze? What…was happening?

Of course, we quickly realized that the whole thing made perfect sense, as it was another classic Trump grift. For one thing, as The Independent wrote at the time, it was (and remains) “unclear exactly what value investors in the NFT are getting for their money.” For another, though a press release noted that a portion of the proceeds from the sale would “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,” Melania and company did not say exactly how big that portion will be, and the former first lady’s office chose not to respond to The Washington Post’s questions about the actual figure. In other words, it’s entirely possible a significant portion of the proceeds could go to directly to Melania Trump, which would be in keeping with Donald Trump’s outlook on charity, which has historically involved bold claims “that don’t always add up” and “persistently illegal conduct.”

Anyway, Mel is at again. Per CNN:



While the white hat is certainly a piece of history, it’s not necessarily the kind that screams “BE BEST, KIDS.” As CNN reminds us, it was worn in April 2018, “a handful of weeks after scandalous headlines about the former president’s alleged extramarital affairs.” Then again, it’s probably more appropriate than raising money off of the “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” jacket the former first lady wore during a trip to tour a detention center housing 55 migrant children.

CNN says that it has “sought clarity numerous times from Trump’s spokesperson about the ‘portion of the proceeds’” that will go to charity, requests that have apparently gone unanswered. A statement about the auction says Melania will “grant the opening round of scholarships to recipients during the first quarter of 2022,” though further details about the scholarships have not yet been revealed. In related news, remember when The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump offered a grieving military father $25,000 and said he would have his staff establish an online fundraiser for the family, neither of which happened, and then months later, the man received a check dated the day the Post story was published? Not sure what made us think of that. Anyway, happy bidding!

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[NanceGreggs]

1. If she really wants to raise money ...

... here are some things people would actually pay for:

A copy of the pre-nup she renegotiated in order to move from NYC to DC and "act" the part of First Lady.

Documentary evidence of what her "Be Best" initiative actually accomplished, and the financial records that show how much money was raised and spent in furtherance thereof.

The medical records that support the contention that her 2018 hospitalization was due to "kidney problems".