On Wednesday, after a top official of President Donald Trump took to social media with a smug claim, the internet was quick to point out that the truth in fact was “literally” the opposite due to his own boss’s much-touted policy.
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“American citizenship is not for sale,” declared Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a rambling post about “birth tourism” and how the Trump administration was defending “the integrity of U.S. citizenship.”
“How quickly we forget that it was literally for sale,” noted Washington Post National Security Editor Ben Pauker, linking to an application for the Trump Gold Card. Launched in September, this program allows individuals and corporate-sponsored employees from abroad to buy residency for $1 million and $2 million, respectively, providing an expedited pathway to citizenship. Many pointed out the contradiction between Trump’s controversial card and Rubio’s claim that citizenship isn’t up for sale.
“It literally is, thanks to your boss,” said Republicans Against Trump.
“For $5M it is,” said another, inaccurately using the original price Trump proposed as the program was being created. In fact, a $5 million card is supposedly launching soon — the Trump Platinum Card — which would allow foreign nationals 270 days of U.S. residency a year, in which they can live in the country without paying taxes on foreign-earned income. This card may never come to fruition, however, as the tax exemption would require Congress to approve a change in the tax code.
“Tell me more about the Trump gold card,” posted Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson. “Citizenship is quite literally for sale.”
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“These clowns don’t even know their own policies,” declared another commenter. “Rubio claims American citizenship is not for sale as Trump is selling $1 million gold cards to grant citizenship to wealthy foreign nationals. More proof that the US government solely exists to serve the rich.”
There were many similar such responses. While the card program has raised controversy and accusations of hypocrisy, it also appears to be in exceptionally low demand. When the program began in December, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed that $1.3 billion “worth” of applications had been sold within just a few days as Trump stood by holding up the gilded ticket and said, “essentially it’s the green card on steroids.” But by late April, it was reported that only a single card had been approved.
Government records later revealed that only 165 applicants actually paid the nonrefundable $15,000 filing fee, exposing a massive gap between the administration’s grandiose revenue claims and the sluggish reality of a high-priced initiative struggling to attract buyers.
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