The Donald Trump 2.0 Grift Is Already On

As President Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, grifters and opportunists were already seeking to cash in on the new Trump era—including the president himself.

Just days before he took office, Trump launched a memecoin called $TRUMP to “celebrate our win and have fun,” warning that it was “not intended to be … an investment opportunity.” Trump announced the launch on X and Truth Social, with many wondering if the president’s accounts had been hacked.

However, within hours, thousands had invested in the cryptocurrency. The sale was so successful that, at billions of dollars, it accounted for almost 90% of Trump’s overall wealth. However, like a lot of memecoins, the $TRUMP coin’s price fluctuated wildly and dipped significantly on Sunday, with the price drop continuing into Monday.

At the time he was sworn in as president on Monday, the $TRUMP memecoin was worth just shy of $50 billion, with Trump retaining 80 percent of the coins. The coin, which is built on the Solana blockchain, allows anyone anywhere in the world to funnel money directly to the US president.

First Lady Melania Trump also launched her own memecoin on Sunday, and while it hasn’t reached the level of Trump’s memecoin, the $MELANIA coin was worth almost $8 billion on Monday.

The president and first lady were far from the only ones seeking to cash in on the buzz around Trump’s second term, and the inauguration weekend in particular. Since his first term in office, Trump has been a magnet for all types of grifts and cash grabs, many of them endorsed by the president himself, and including everything from guitars and shoes to trading cards and coins.

Religion has also been on the table. Lee Greenwood, a country singer, said on Sunday that Trump could use a special edition of the “God Bless The USA” bible for his swearing in—the same bible the singer has been selling with Trump since last March.

The “Inauguration Day Edition Bible” has been on sale on Greenwood’s own website—alongside hot pink and camo versions of the bible—for $70 for the last week, but as Trump took office on Monday, the bible appeared to have already sold out.

A raft of other commemorative items are on sale, ranging from dozens of “Inauguration Day” t-shirts and hats being sold on platforms like Amazon and Etsy to a special “Inauguration Edition” roast from Victory Coffee. A Texas-based jeweller is even offering to gift the president an 8-carat diamond in the shape of his head in what appears to be a marketing bid.

And because Trump’s inauguration was moved indoors due to severe cold weather, tens of thousands of people who had been sent tickets to attend the event were unable to use them. People have attempted to cash in on those tickets, with dozens of listings on eBay offering the unused tickets for up to $200 each. The tickets were distributed free by members of the House of Representatives and feature a hologram and the signature of the representative whose office issued them. Many of the listings have already been sold, with some sellers offering multiple tickets.

A specific website offering commemorative inaugural tickets was also set up, with some tickets offered for as much as $900. It is unclear who is behind the page, but the site is ranked as the second result on a Google search for “commemorative inauguration tickets.”

Grifting and cash grabs in Trumpworld are nothing new. Ever since Trump came to office in 2016, he and his sycophantic supporters have embraced a wide variety of schemes. With Trump support, many figures have made entire careers grifting on topics like stolen elections or COVID denialism.