Former First Lady Melania Trump offered up a new non-fungible token (NFT) piece of artwork last week and this week she's selling the hat she wore during an official state visit to the U.S. by French President Emmanuel Macron. She has also autographed the hat for the buyer and the prices start at $250,000.
Mrs. Trump, a former model, focused a lot on her fashion while in the White House. She is the first among the first ladies to auction off her belongings, though she says that a "portion" of the funds will go to her "Be Best" campaign's foster care initiative, which aimed to fight bullying.
It's unknown if the former first lady intends to offer any additional auction items in the future. The auction runs through Jan. 25.
The auction prompted confusion and frustration from those online. Some thought it wasn't a real news story. Others speculated whether the funds would truly go to charity, highlighting the "portion" part of her statement. Many noted that the move was another example of the Trump family grifting off of their time in the White House.
Suspicion is reasonable given the track record of the Trump family charity that had to be shut down due to fraud. Trump used the 501(c)3 to get associates to donate to causes and then he would cut a check to the charity, taking a considerable amount off the top.
In one incident, Eric Trump took funds that were meant for the children's cancer charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. While saying that the Trump properties were all free to use for charitable events, it turns out they profited $1.2 million off of the fundraiser, reported Forbes. The 2019 report resulted in an investigation from the New York attorney general.
In another case, former President Donald Trump claimed in 2016 he would host a veterans charity event instead of attending a presidential debate. The funds weren't sent to the charities he promised until after reports became public that he hadn't sent the groups any money. Ultimately, a judge ordered the Trump Foundation to pay out $2 million to charities and close the foundation.
See some of the comments from those online below:
Melania is selling a hat she wore to a French state visit and an NFT depicting her wearing the hat.\n\nThe grift is as active as the self-absorption.pic.twitter.com/QTRSYrYRjg— Josh Rudolph (@Josh Rudolph) 1641303801
I thought this was a joke. Next Melania will be auctioning off her thongs worn in soft core porn shoots.https://twitter.com/ronfilipkowski/status/1478357709099569153\u00a0\u2026— Barbara Malmet (@Barbara Malmet) 1641307315
Melania Trump today is auctioning off the hat she wore when she met French President Macron. Autographed. \u201cA portion of the proceeds\u201d to charity.pic.twitter.com/YV9vrocVi5— Ron Filipkowski (@Ron Filipkowski) 1641302919
Former first ladies have always set up foundations and charities to help people and the world.\n\nMelania Trump will sell NFTs.\n\nOf herself.\n\nFor personal profit.— Agolf Twitler Slayer (@Agolf Twitler Slayer) 1641127824
Melania Trump getting into NFTs and Crypto makes sense since her whole life is about bad decisions.— \ud83d\udc80DeathMetalViking\ud83d\udc80 (@\ud83d\udc80DeathMetalViking\ud83d\udc80) 1641309333
Since leaving the WH, the Princeton undergrad & Harvard law grad Michelle Obama penned, \u201cBecoming\u201d one of the most successful memoirs of all time.\nShe filmed a documentary of the same name & launched a podcast.\n\nBirther plagiarist, Melania Trump hawks Bitcoin & NFTs on Twitter.pic.twitter.com/4sdJPnVJFn— Jo (@Jo) 1641251743
Melania Trump using her twitter page to push bitcoin & her NFT is just so dang janky, even I am surprised, and watched her hubs sh*t himself, a lot.— NoelCaslerComedy (@NoelCaslerComedy) 1641259216
Melania Trump: \n\u201cA portion of the proceeds will support children from the foster care community.\u201d\n\nKey word: portion\n\nSynonyms: tiny, fragment, bitpic.twitter.com/gh9egeUIsl— Christopher \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Proud Dem (@Christopher \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Proud Dem) 1641304354
"Melania, 0% isn't a 'portion' of anything."\n\n"Yes, is small portion."\n\n"No, it's not a-"\n\n"IS VERY SMALL PORTION!"— John Desrocher (@John Desrocher) 1641303200
"Melania, 0% isn't a 'portion' of anything."\n\n"Yes, is small portion."\n\n"No, it's not a-"\n\n"IS VERY SMALL PORTION!"— John Desrocher (@John Desrocher) 1641303200
So Melania is holding an auction which is really just an elitist go fund me— Y'all hurry up\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Y'all hurry up\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1641307880
I thought this was a joke. Next Melania will be auctioning off her thongs worn in soft core porn shoots.https://twitter.com/ronfilipkowski/status/1478357709099569153\u00a0\u2026— Barbara Malmet (@Barbara Malmet) 1641307315
BREAKING: Melania Trump is auctioning off my pants (right) as part of her NFT collection.\n#MelaniaNFTpic.twitter.com/uFcmRtVzaJ— c\u03b1\u03b7\u03b1\u2202\u03b1 \u043d\u03b1\u0442\u03b5s \u0442\u044f\u262d\u043c\u03c1 (@c\u03b1\u03b7\u03b1\u2202\u03b1 \u043d\u03b1\u0442\u03b5s \u0442\u044f\u262d\u043c\u03c1) 1641303801
Two hats??pic.twitter.com/S82462wuu8— James (@James) 1641307686
Why is Melania selling personal items for profit?\n\nWrong answers only please.— Tony Posnanski (@Tony Posnanski) 1641309172
