Donald Trump’s top economic advisor has floated the idea of a new “Trump card” that would avoid the need for an industry-wide credit cap, in what appears to be the latest attempt to capitalise on the presidency.
“Our expectation is that it won’t necessarily require legislation because there will be really great new Trump cards presented for folks that are voluntarily provided by the banks,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said on Friday. Last week, Trump called on credit card companies to cap interest rates at 10 per cent, claiming that Americans were being “ripped off.”
Hassett told Fox News’s “Mornings with Maria” that the administration had been in contact with banks about the new “Trump cards.” “We’ve been in conversations with the big banks, with CEOs of many of the big banks who think that the president is on to something, that he’s got a great idea,” he said, without offering further detail.
Trump credit cards are the latest in a long list of presidential merchandise endeavours, which include phones, watches, sneakers, guitars and bibles – though some have not been the success he may have hoped for. The $500 golden T1 cell phone promised for release last year is still not available, and the “MAGA faithful” have complained about delivery issues with watches, which averaged 2.7 stars on TrustPilot, with some calling the operation a “scam”.
Other ventures include “limited edition” American Eagle-branded guitars retailing from $1,500 to $10,500, and “Never Surrender” high-top shoes for $399. A financial disclosure report from last June revealed that Trump made over $10 million from branded merchandise, including $2.8 million from watches, $3 million from coffee table books, and $1.3 million from Bibles.
