New trouble for Donald and Melania Trump

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.

Since Donald Trump left the White House, Melania Trump has continued to make headlines. However, the typical reporting about Melania is about how she was caught in yet another weird scandal. Given that Melania spent her time as First Lady trying to encourage others to โ€œBe Best,โ€ the irony only continues to grow.

Already, July is ending with at least two fresh Melania scandals. A couple of weeks ago, only because Trump filed a personal financial disclosure, we learned that Make America Great Again, Again, a Trump-aligned super PAC, paid Melania a total of $155,000 for a supposed โ€œspeaking engagementโ€ in December 2021. According to Federal Election Commission records, the payments were described as โ€œevent planning and consulting.โ€

A representative for the super PAC told the New York Times that Melaniaโ€™s responsibilities actually included โ€œchoosing tableware, arranging settings and picking floral arrangements,โ€ which is not exactly a speaking engagement. Also, directly paying a spouse of a potential presidential candidate by a campaign or affiliated group is rare, as the Times pointed out. Though he has his own motives as Trumpโ€™s opponent, GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie further slammed the revelation as Trump โ€œpaying his wife more than 2x what the average American makes just to pick some tableware.โ€

Melania is back in the news with a new scandal, thanks to her enthusiasm for trying to make money from the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Melania has released a collection of โ€œMan on the Moonโ€ NFTs that she is offering for $75 each and calls a โ€œlimited edition collectible.โ€ The problem is, either Melania and her team didnโ€™t do their homework or they donโ€™t care.

The NFTs include a famous NASA image of Buzz Aldrin on the moon, taken by Neil Armstrong. Although NASAโ€™s image may not be copyrighted as a product of the government, NASAโ€™s regulations limit usage to โ€œeducational or information purposes.โ€ Also, NASA specifically addressed NFTs, making clear that the agency โ€œis not approving any merchandising applicationsโ€ involving them and that โ€œNASA does not wish for its images to be used in connection with NFTs.โ€ It might once again be time for Melania to dust off that โ€œI REALLY DONโ€™T CARE. DO U?โ€ jacket. So much for Be Best.

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.