Former first lady Melania Trump is releasing another round of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which are part of the “1776 Collection,” just in time for the Fourth of July weekend.
The collection, described as “Celebrating our Nation’s independence,” features six pieces of digital artwork: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; A New Nation, Conceived in Liberty; Let Freedom Ring; With Liberty and Justice for All; and Yearning to Breathe Free.
Art work on the NFTs ranges from Mount Rushmore, a snapshot of the D.C. landscape featuring prominent markers including the Washington Monument, the Liberty Bell, and the Statue of Liberty. Each NFT, going for $50 each, has patriotic music playing in the background
“The 1776 Collection of artwork draws inspiration from several iconic landmarks of our nation, which I had the privilege of visiting during the time I served as first lady,” Melania Trump told Fox News Digital, explaining that “each piece provides a view into our nation’s history, culture and patriotism.”
Melania Trump’s 1776 NFT Collection, USA Memorabilia
“I am proud to celebrate our great nation and remain inspired by the words contained within the Declaration of Independence,” she added.
Fox News reported that a “portion of proceeds will go toward Fostering the Future, a Be Best initiative that helps to secure educational opportunities and scholarships for children in the foster care community.”
This is hardly Melania Trump’s first venture into the world of NFTs.
In December 2021, she released the series “Melania’s vision,” which featured images of Melania’s eyes, created by French artist Marc-Antoine Coulon. A portion of the proceeds from that collection also went to assist children exiting in the foster care system.
“Since leaving the White House, I have envisioned creating a new platform where Freedom of Speech can flourish,” Mrs. Trump told Breitbart News at the time. “My new NFT gallery, MelaniaTrump.com, uses the decentralized nature of Blockchain Technology, and gives a direct connection to people worldwide.”
Melania Trump released her third series of NFTs in February last year — the POTUS TRUMP NFT Collection to celebrate moments from her husband’s administration, just in time for President’s Day.
Former President Donald Trump has also jumped into the world of NFTs, offering his own set as well.
Trump’s decision to sell NFTs has not been welcomed by all, however. Some conservatives have criticized the decision.
“The president should not be involved with this,” Dr. Sebastian Gorka said during a December 2022 appearance on the War Room podcast.
“Whoever wrote that pitch should be fired and should never be involved” in Trump’s future campaign endeavors, he said according to Rolling Stone, which highlighted other criticisms.
“General Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to Trump, made a similar criticism on a radio show appearance on Thursday. ‘Whoever advised him on that, I’d fire them immediately,’ Flynn said,” per the outlet.
Others, including radio host John Cardillo, who supports Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, described the NFT announcement as “ridiculously tacky,” and podcaster Tim Pool said Trump was “basically retired.”
Trump’s speech on censorship was awesome but unfortunately overshadowed by the ridiculously tacky NFT announcement. It’s like he can’t help himself in making these unforced errors.
Had he just stuck with the censorship speech it would have been a massive winning day for him.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) December 15, 2022
trump launches a campaign calling out the machine, mocking the establishment ruthlessly, slamming war
he continues in 2020 with expansion of sound policy, pulling troops out of the middle east, negotiating peace
Now hes selling NFT’s
homie basically retired
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) December 15, 2022
Regardless, Trump reportedly “made between $100,000 and $1 million with a series of digital trading cards he released in December that portrayed a photoshopped Trump in a series of cartoon-like images, including an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero,” according to reports.