Trump promotes his wife’s NFT venture through taxpayer-funded office

Federal law prohibits office holders from endorsing products, even if it does not directly benefit them

Former President Donald Trump may have violated federal ethics rules after he issued a statement from his publicly-funded office hawking his wife's new NFT platform.

On Thursday, Melania Trump announced she had begun selling NFTs, the first of which was a watercolour of her eyes along with a recorded "message of hope." The digital item can be bought using cryptocurrency and has a cash value of around $150. Portions of the proceeds from the sales will go to benefit children who are leaving foster homes.

The next day, Mr Trump's office issued a advertisement-like statement promoting the NFT.

"Congratulations to my wife, Melania. The launch of Melania's new NFT business epitomizes our American Spirit of ingenuity, creativity, and entrepreneurship," he wrote. "By leveraging blockchain technology, MelaniaTrump.com will provide Melania's fans, connoisseurs of the arts, and the public at large the ability to collect rare and limited edition pieces while benefiting children in the foster care community."

The statement was released through "The Office of Donald J Trump," which has become the former president's default mode of reaching the masses since his Facebook and Twitter profiles were suspended.

After a president leaves office, they still receive some public funding through the 1958 Former President's Act. This entitles them to receive transition assistance, medical insurance, some Secret Service protection, a pension and a staff and office.

Because Mr Trump was using his publicly funded office to promote his wife's private venture, it is possible that he violated federal ethics laws.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, "an employee shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, including nonprofit organizations of which the employee is an officer or member, and persons with whom the employee has or seeks employment or business relations."

Later in the subsection, the code specifically prohibits business endorsements.

The subsection says that "an employee shall not use or permit the use of his Government position or title or any authority associated with his public office to endorse any product, service or enterprise," with some exceptions. The former First Lady's NFT business is not listed among the exceptions.

This isn't the first time Mr Trump has promoted a product while in public office; in 2020 the former president came under fire when he and his daughter Ivanka pushed Goya brand beans.

At the time, Ivanka Trump wrote a tweet advertising the beans alongside a now infamous photo of her holding a can of Goya black beans in her hands as though she were modelling the food. Her caption was the phrase "if it's Goya, it has to be good" in both English and Spanish.

Later the same week, Mr Trump took to Instagram to share a photo of himself sitting at the Resolute desk in the Oval Office surrounded by Goya products while giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

Ultimately, if Mr Trump did violate federal code, he never faced any consequences for doing so, and it seems as though this instance of possible violation will be no different. Federal prosecutors may be too busy processing the hundreds of people who attacked the Capitol to keep Mr Trump in office to follow up on the former president's scheme to hawk his wife's art project.