Amid a market meltdown following his dramatic announcement of worldwide tariffs, Trump took the time on Thursday to show off his “Gold Card” to reporters aboard Air Force One.
Wealthy immigrants can buy the card for $5 million to gain U.S. residency. It features Donald Trump’s face.
“For $5 million, this could be yours,” pitched the president. “You know what that card is? It’s the Gold Card, the Trump Card,” said the president.
“Who is the first buyer?” one of the reporters asked.
“Me,” Trump quipped.
“The second?” the reporter pushed on.
“I don’t know, but I’m the first buyer. It’ll be out in … less than two weeks. Pretty exciting, right?” the president asked.
“Anybody want to buy one?” Trump asked.
Mediaite highlighted the interaction between Trump and the reporters.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced late last month the “sale of 1,000 Gold Cards this week, raising $5 billion in a single day.”
Unlike American citizens, gold card holders will not have to pay taxes to the U.S. government on their overseas income.
Trump introduced the cards in February to allow wealthy immigrants to live and work in the U.S. The price would grant them residency in the U.S. and, in essence, replace the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, according to Forbes.
Trump was quickly asked by reporters about the negative impact of his new tariffs on the global markets.
“Well, I mean, it’s to be expected where this is a patient that was very sick,” claimed Trump. “We really inherited a terrible economy … with a lot of problems.”
It was a “sick patient that went through an operation on ‘Liberation Day,’” he added, referring to his name for the day he announced the new tariffs on Wednesday.
“It’s gonna be a booming country … It’s going to be amazing, actually. We see it because we have trillions of dollars committed to come in.”
Trump has often claimed that tariffs on products imported to the U.S. are paid by countries where the goods originate. In fact, American companies importing the products pay tariffs to the US government and typically pass on much of the costs to American consumers.
In response to Trump’s trade war, the S&P 500 had its worst day since 2020, with a fall of 4.8 percent.
Tech stocks such as Apple and Amazon fell further while markets in Asia and Europe pulled back.
The tariffs have been denounced by Democrats, some Republicans, business groups, and trade experts. Economists issued warnings that the tariffs would raise prices for U.S. consumers and prompt employers to pull back on hiring.