“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert joined President Joe Biden in mocking Donald Trump’s launch of digital trading cards, proposing what could have been a more enterprising and credible idea.
“This morning, the former president dropped the blockbuster news,” Colbert tensely and sarcastically begins, before reading the text Trump used to announce his supposed NFT launch earlier Thursday on his social media platform Truth Social as the post was displayed onscreen.
“That’s right,” Colbert said, flabbergasted. “The ex-president of the United States- the ex-most powerful man in the world — has launched a line of trading cards.”
But Colbert diverges from Trump’s actual line of NFTs to show what would have presumably worked out better for Trump, or at least drawn more people’s genuine interest — Pokémon-themed cards titled Gropémon and Pikacoup, the latter featuring a graphic treatment of “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley in full headdress that quite resembles the Pokémon character Pikachu.
“Lord have mercy,” Colbert said. “This is the least dignified attempt at post-presidential merchandising since the launch of Tickle Me Truman.”
Watch video of Colbert’s joke from “The Late Show” below to see a graphic of the accompanying “Tickle Me Elmo”-styled toy that Harry Truman would have loved.
Biden had earlier in the day poked fun at Trump, posting a list of five recent accomplishments of his administration under a snarky caption.
Trump on Thursday revealed a new foray into NFT sales, sharing a website that offers a series of what he called “digital trading cards” for $99 each.
On a website called CollectTrumpCards.com, the 45th president is selling a series of artworks featuring likenesses of himself depicted as a superhero with laser eyes, an astronaut, a John Wayne-like cowboy and a golfer – along with, of course, a dark-suited Trump surrounded by gold bars. In a video accompanying the launch, Trump says they are “just like a baseball card, or other collectibles.”
Fans who buy 45 digital trading cards, which would cost $4,455 before any taxes or fees, are “guaranteed a ticket to attend a gala dinner with Trump in South Florida,” the site says. The site accepts credit cards and cryptocurrency, and states that buyers can sell or trade their digital trading cards, including on any marketplace that accepts Polygon-based NFTs.
“Remember, Christmas is coming, and this makes a great Christmas gift,” the 45th president said in a video accompanying the launch.
Eileen AJ Connelly contributed to this report.
