I don&#8217;t mean to be rude, but President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-has-a-field-day-when-trumps-huge-announcement-turns-out-to-be-trading-cards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major announcement</a>&#8221; — that wound up being about semi-exclusive &#8220;non-fungible tokens&#8221; made in his likeness costing $99 a pop — was pretty much the worst announcement of all time.
Here&#8217;s his promotional video for those who haven&#8217;t seen it:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Donald Trump announced his new NFT collection with a commercial.
Here it is: <a href="https://t.co/yBLpn1Zb0f">pic.twitter.com/yBLpn1Zb0f</a>
&mdash; unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) <a href="https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/1603442427473571841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
What&#8217;s next? A line of pet rocks?
That&#8217;s essentially what NFTs are, actually.
NFTs <a href="https://re4industry.eu/nft/#:~:text=Non%2Dfungible%20tokens%20(NFTs),traded%20or%20exchanged%20at%20equivalency." target="_blank" rel="noopener">are</a> &#8220;cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other.&#8221; So, basically, they&#8217;re crypto artworks paid for by crypto tokens, which, if you&#8217;re to believe JP Morgan&#8217;s Jamie Dimon, aren&#8217;t worth much at all.
&#8220;I think crypto is a complete sideshow,&#8221; Dimon <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3914305-jpmorgans-jamie-dimon-crypto-is-a-complete-sideshow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> recently. &#8220;Crypto tokens are like pet rocks.&#8221;
Now, you can own a Trump NFT, but it doesn&#8217;t seem like it will help his 2024 campaign.
According to the website they&#8217;re being sold on, this is &#8220;not political.&#8221;
&#8220;Is any of the money from this collection going to the Donald J. Trump campaign for President?”
&#8220;NO,&#8221; the <a href="https://collecttrumpcards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">answer reads</a> in all caps. &#8220;These Digital Trading Cards are not political and have nothing to do with any political campaign.&#8221;
So, you can&#8217;t even chalk this up to a cheesy campaign bit where the candidate sells or auctions off cheesy items to make an extra buck.
Even if the money did go to his campaign — Trump 2016 never had to do that.
He actually used to have &#8220;major announcements&#8221; worth doing.
Trump&#8217;s 2016 campaign was a masterful performance that rejected the status quo and whacked an out-of-touch GOP upside the head.
People, especially Washington Republicans, seem to have forgotten that Trump&#8217;s popularity in the 2016 primary was thanks in large part to his willingness to attack Republicans who disdained the party base. He was the only candidate who understood that his battle was against Hilary Clinton, legacy media, as well as the GOP establishment.
He did so in remarkable fashion.
Who could forget when he ditched a GOP debate in 2016 and chose instead to host a fundraiser for veterans? He raised more than four million to help a group ignored by Washington — despite their sacrifices.
He is also the guy who brought former President Bill Clinton&#8217;s accusers to a press conference right before a debate against Hilary in the general election.
Both moves were brilliant, tremendous surprises that rejuvenated the base and connected.
How do $99 digital trinkets do that?
Perhaps Trump&#8217;s rapid response team on his campaign understood that they flubbed the announcement because soon after revealing the promotion, his team released an excellent commitment to free speech in America.
Among the promises from Trump are: banning the federal government from policing lawful domestic speech, firing any federal bureaucrat who has directly or indirectly engaged in censorship, and barring federal funds for universities that censor speech.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Strong free speech platform for 2024 just announced by Trump:
-Banning the Federal Government from policing lawful domestic speech. -Firing any Federal Bureaucrat who has directly or indirectly engaged in censorship. -Barring federal funds for universities that censor speech. <a href="https://t.co/yoaCtZpYNw">pic.twitter.com/yoaCtZpYNw</a>
&mdash; Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) <a href="https://twitter.com/Surabees/status/1603437839533965312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
All of that is compelling, but why didn&#8217;t he announce that before his NFT scheme?
Instead of focusing on his base, it seemed as if Trump was merely trying to line his own pockets.
That needs to change — and fast — if he has any desire of bringing the same voter enthusiasm to his latest bid for office.
He needs to remember that his most appealing message in 2016 was his bounding optimism and confidence in the American people.
His accurate assessment of the country&#8217;s problems — illegal immigration run amok, a deluge of blue-collar jobs leaving the country, a dishonest legacy media, and a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boehner-cries-for-pelosi-while-conservatives-weep-for-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political swamp of Republicans and Democrats</a> ripping off the taxpayer and crafting laws out of touch with the average American — was matched with clear policies that were going to put America back on track.
The greatness of Trump&#8217;s 2016 campaign was not just his ability to name America&#8217;s problems, but to offer answers that would solve those problems.
His policies were reflective of his faith that America could be made great again if the American people were given the chance by having a president who forced the D.C. establishment to get out of their way.
All of that is still relevant — and that&#8217;s not necessarily a sign of the president&#8217;s failure in office. Four years is a short amount of time to expect any concrete change to take root in The Swamp.
As it stands now, polls show that the 2024 <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2024-gop-primary-election-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GOP nomination</a> is still his to lose. In a crowded field, Trump is leading every potential Republican challenger.
Still, it is evident that somebody on his team needs to remind him of what worked in 2016 — and it wasn&#8217;t Trump collectible items.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

Trump Needs To Rekindle 2016 Spirit To Win It All

Looks Like Another Biden-Emboldened Islamic Terror Group Is Joining The Fight

‘Totally Inappropriate’: Trump, Others Blast Biden For Giving Palestinians Fresh U.S. Tax Dollars

Biden To Lift Some Venezuelan Sanctions If They Pinky Promise To Hold Free Elections

Where The Hell Is Biden? President AWOL As Americans Killed, Held Hostage In Terrorist Attack

Hillary Clinton Suggests ‘Formal Deprogramming Of The Cult Members’ Of MAGA

Creep State: SEC Investigates Elon Musk’s Twitter Purchase After Biden Said It Was ‘Worth Being Looked At’

Opinion

2024 Election

Donald Trump

Elections

Politics

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

The Pendragon Cycle

Menu

— Opinion —

Trump Needs To Rekindle 2016 Spirit To Win It All