Hey, suckers! Get your Donald Trump watch now

As candidate and as president, Donald Trump told so many lies it’s hard to keep track of them. The Washington Post tallied 30,573 lies Trump told in his four years in the White House, averaging 21 a day, and a whopping 503 on one day alone: Nov. 2, 2020. 

He’s told so many lies, in fact, that his occasional burst of truth stands out. Like this one. In a 2022 interview for her book “Confidence Man,” the New York Times’s Maggie Haberman asked Trump whether, having run for president twice, he’d ever do it again. “The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here’s the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are.” 

Stop right there. Consider two points before moving on. One, the definition of “confidence man” is “a swindler who exploits a victim.” Its synonyms are: con artist, con man, chiseler, defrauder, gouger, grifter, scammer. You have to ask: Even if it fits, is this really the title Trump wants to be remembered by? 

Two, consider Trump’s answer. In response to that same question, most former presidents would say something like: “Yes, because I think I can get this country back on track,” or “because I want to help all those who’ve been left behind.” But not Donald Trump. He wants to run for president again because, he says, it’ll make him famous —which, for him, means it’ll make him more money. 

In fact, back in 2000, long before running for president but already thinking about it, he told Fortune magazine: “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.” And that’s what Trump’s been doing ever since. He’s hawking more products today than Costco. 

Of course, this is nothing new for Trump. As a celebrity developer, he peddled his own brand of ties, dress shirts, wine, bottled water, steaks and scented candles. Plus, his own airline, three casinos in Atlantic City and Trump University, all of which famously crashed and burned.  

And he’s still at it. In the last few months alone, while running for president, Donald Trump has peddled Trump Bibles, Trump digital trading cards, Trump sneakers, Trump silver medallions, Trump coolers, Trump Victory Perfume and Trump Victory Cologne. Meanwhile, former first lady Melania Trump was hustling her own NFT collection and special Mother’s Day necklaces. 

The latest? Trump Time! As the nonstop salesman announced in a video on Truth Social, it’s the new Donald Trump watch. “Be part of history,” his website declares. Just order the “Fight Fight Fight” Red Silver Model for $499; the “Fight Fight Fight” Onyx Gold Model (only 1000; each numbered) for $799; or the deluxe “Trump Victory Tourbillon” Model with 122 diamonds (only 147; with a signed letter from him) for a whopping $100,000. But supplies are limited. Hurry, hurry, hurry! 

How tacky. And how desperate. It looks like Trump knows he’s going to lose to Kamala Harris, so he’s trying to bilk Americans out of every dollar he can before Nov. 5.  

Granted, there’s nothing illegal about this. Trump’s free to take advantage of his fame as former president to line his own pockets. But you must agree it’s not presidential. It’s downright tacky. You can’t imagine George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan or Dwight Eisenhower trying to cash in on the presidency.   

One thing for sure. $199 for cologne? $499 for sneakers? $100,000 for a watch? Even if I wanted to be a Trump supporter, I couldn’t afford it.  

Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”