Donald Trump 2. 0 is here

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 taking office, Trump filed a memecoin called $TRUMP to “celebrate our victory and have fun,” warning that it “is not intended to be. . . an investment opportunity. ” Trump announced the launch of X and Truth Social and many are wondering if the president’s accounts were hacked.

However, within a few hours, thousands of people invested in cryptocurrencies. The sale was so successful that it represents, in billions of dollars, almost 90% of Trump’s total wealth. However, like many memecoins, the price of the $TRUMP coin fluctuated wildly and fell especially on Sunday, and the price drop continued until 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 introduced her own memecoin on Sunday, and while she didn’t succeed in targeting Trump’s memecoin, the $MELANIA coin was worth around $8 billion as of Monday.

The president and first daughter were not the only ones to take advantage of the rumors surrounding Trump’s second term, and especially the weekend of his inauguration. Since his first term, Trump has been a magnet for all kinds of scams and embezzlement, many of which have been supported. including the president himself, and ranging from guitars and shoes to trading cards and coins.

Religion also on the table. Lee Greenwood, a country singer, said Sunday that Trump might use a special edition of the “God Bless The USA” Bible for his inauguration, the same Bible the singer has been promoting to 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 number of other commemorative pieces are on sale, from dozens of “Inauguration Day” t-shirts and hats sold on platforms like Amazon and Etsy to a special Victory Coffee “Inauguration Edition” roast. A Texas-based jeweler even offers to gift the president an 8-carat diamond on his head, in what appears to be a marketing offer.

And because Trump’s inauguration was held indoors due to the bitter cold, tens of thousands of people who had won tickets to attend the occasion were unable to use them. People have been looking to cash in on those tickets, with dozens of listings on eBay offering unused tickets for up to $200 each. The tickets were distributed free of charge through members of the House of Representatives and feature a hologram and the signature of the representative whose office issued them. Many listings have already been sold and some distributors have provided tickets.

An express online page has also been created that offers commemorative tickets for the inauguration, some of them with prices up to $900. It’s unclear who exactly the page is, but the site ranked second in 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.

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