New trouble for Donald and Melania Trump
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 “Be Best,” 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 “speaking engagement” in December 2021. According to Federal Election Commission records, the payments were described as “event planning and consulting.”
A representative for the super PAC told the New York Times that Melania’s responsibilities actually included “choosing tableware, arranging settings and picking floral arrangements,” 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 Trump’s opponent, GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie further slammed the revelation as Trump “paying his wife more than 2x what the average American makes just to pick some tableware.”
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 “Man on the Moon” NFTs that she is offering for $75 each and calls a “limited edition collectible.” The problem is, either Melania and her team didn’t do their homework or they don’t care.
The NFTs include a famous NASA image of Buzz Aldrin on the moon, taken by Neil Armstrong. Although NASA’s image may not be copyrighted as a product of the government, NASA’s regulations limit usage to “educational or information purposes.” Also, NASA specifically addressed NFTs, making clear that the agency “is not approving any merchandising applications” involving them and that “NASA does not wish for its images to be used in connection with NFTs.” It might once again be time for Melania to dust off that “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U?” jacket. So much for Be Best.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month