With less than 10 weeks before the presidential election, Donald Trump had a message for voters in late August: He would be selling more digital trading cards for $99 each.
“Fifty all new stunning digital trading cards — it’s really something,” Trump says in the ad. “These cards show me dancing and even holding some bitcoins.”
Buy 15 or more of the digital cards, he said, and he would mail a single physical trading card. Those came with a special perk: “An authentic piece of my suit that I wore for the presidential debate.” Five of the suit pieces would even be autographed, he promised. Those willing to buy 75 of the cards — at a total cost of $7,425 — were invited to attend a gala dinner at his country club in Florida, he said. “Let’s have fun together,” he said
On Tuesday, he again took to Truth Social for another post: selling a book — $99 without his autograph, $499 with his autograph — of pictures of himself. “A MUST HAVE on U.S. History,” he called it.
In both cases, the money was not going to his campaign but to for-profit ventures he earns millions from promoting. No presidential candidate has ever so closely linked his election with personal for-profit enterprises, selling a staggering array of merchandise that includes signed Bibles where he receives a royalty for hawking them, pricey sneakers, gold necklaces, cryptocurrency cards, pens, books, licensing fees on overseas properties and more.
His company’s website also sells a variety of political merchandise at higher prices than his campaign charges for the same items. A “Make America Great Again” hat that sells for $55 on his company website costs $40 through the campaign. A 3×5 flag from the campaign costs $43, while the same size flag on the company’s site costs $86.
“There’s no precedent in history at all, and certainly not in modern history, for somebody who has monetized the office or running for office of president the way he has,” said Don Fox, former general counsel for the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
But Trump’s various moneymaking strategies also further a narrative that Democrats say resonates with voters: that the former president only cares about himself.
“One of the many arguments we make against Trump is that he cares solely about himself and his bottom line more than anything else, including the American people, it manifests itself in all sorts of different ways,” said Ammar Moussa, director of rapid response for the Harris campaign. “We have a lot of different proof points, and it’s not just him hawking bibles and ugly sneakers. It’s also, for instance, when he uses donor money to pay for his personal legal fees.”
A spokeswoman for Trump did not answer questions about how many deals he had struck, how much money he had made or whether he would continue such deals should he win the White House.
“President Trump left his multibillion-dollar real estate empire to run for office, donated his presidential government salary, and was the first President to actually lose net worth while serving in the White House,” spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “Unlike most politicians, President Trump didn’t get into politics for profit. He ran for president because he genuinely loves the people of this country and wants to make America great again.”
There are advisers and lawyers inside the campaign who say the deals are a little “slimy,” but “Trump relishes being able to market his name,” said one campaign adviser, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal details.
“His general belief is, ‘If I’m going to get attacked and have to pay all these lawyers and deal with everything, I need to make some money off it,’” the adviser said.
Trump has privately complained that being president has cost him money at some of his hotels, golf courses and luxury properties, a fact that is borne out by federal financial disclosures. In other places, he has made far more money because of the gig — jacking up his Mar-a-Lago Club’s membership fee to $700,000, for example, giving people a chance to have access to him.
“There’s nothing surprising considering the individual,” Fox said. “How does any of that commercialization of his former office and the one that he seeks again — how does that translate to making the lives of ordinary Americans better? It doesn’t. It just goes to lining his own pocket.”
Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University, said former presidents have often made money by selling books, giving speeches or serving on boards. “They raise money for their libraries, and they get big checks for their memoirs,” Brinkley said.
But he said no president or major-party presidential candidate had ever marketed themselves the way Trump has — with extensive licensing deals for gear, or merging a campaign for the presidency with a private business enterprise.
“In the sense of marketeering themselves in the way that Trump does, selling bobbleheads and MAGA gear, it’s a new lurch into campaign capitalism and profiteering off the White House,” he said. “It’s a real blurring of the lines between his private marketeering and campaign politics. You can quickly confuse the voting public.”
Leavitt called Brinkley’s criticism “an absurd allegation from someone who has no idea what he’s talking about.”
“President Trump had multiple No. 1 best-selling books long before he ever stepped foot in the White House,” she said.
Trump is interested in licensing deals and one-off deals where he does not have to make large time commitments, according to people who have dealt with the issue. In particular, he has liked the book deals where he makes millions from writing, or approving quick captions on pictures and signing some of the books — both with an upfront payment and a portion of the sales. He also has expressed a preference for deals where he can be paid to show up somewhere, particularly at events at his own club.
A person with knowledge of the discussions said the deals usually came directly to Trump or family members and were later scrutinized by lawyers, often after Trump had already said yes. Most of the deals were in the low millions of dollars, this person said.
“What he was willing to do depended on how much money he was getting, who was asking and what mood he was in,” the person said.
Trump often caused challenges to his lawyers and aides — for example, he demanded that the pro shop in his golf course sell MAGA hats, which was campaign merchandise that his private club cannot sell. Eventually, lawyers suggested an iPad be brought into the clubhouse so that people could make a donation to his campaign to get the hats.
Trump has sold a license agreement to a company that markets a panoply of products branded in his name. Those include various styles of golf shoes, perfume, coolers, and sandals among other projects. Trump hawked the athletic shoes during a stop at a Pennsylvania sneaker event this year, because part of the deal required him to promote them.
Last year, he reported making $300,000 from promoting a Bible with musician Lee Greenwood, who often appears at Trump events. The former president, who is not known to be particularly religious, asked his supporters to pay about $60 for the Bible. Greenwood approached Trump directly about the deal, people familiar with the matter said.
“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Trump said in a Truth Social video. “I’m proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible. We must make America pray again.”
Some of Trump’s former and informal advisers have discussed launching a Trump vodka line, according to people familiar with the discussions. So far, that has not come to market. A person close to Trump said he has no plans to endorse or start a vodka line.
One of the more prominent deals includes Trump promoting shoes with his name and autograph on them. Those include “Never Surrender Gold Low Tops” that cost $499. There is a “Crypto President” pair of bitcoin orange sneakers for the same price, and a $299 pair of “Fight Fight Fight” shoes that include his bloody face and his arm foisted in the air after the July attempted assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.
“GetTrumpSneakers.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign. 45Footwear is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates. 45Footwear uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms,” the website says.
CIC Ventures is a Trump company. The deal includes Trump getting profits in exchange for promotion and autographed materials. He also had to approve the designs.
It is unclear exactly who profits — Trump advisers would not say, and 45Footwear is affiliated with an LLC by the same name that is based in Sheridan, Wyo., according to state records. The LLC was filed by a Wyoming lawyer named Andrew Pierce.
Pierce’s bio on his company’s website says he was “initially a Caribbean business developer” who “learned the hard way the importance of correct business structuring. His firsthand experiences led him to advocate for accessible legal guidance, culminating in the creation of WyomingLLCAttorney.com.”
On some occasions, Trump has benefited from political organizations that he controls. For example, at various political events, donors, supporters and allies are given copies of his picture book, including at the Republican National Convention in July, per attendees. The party has purchased the books.
One adviser described Trump spending hours signing the copies of the book but said he viewed it as worth the money.
