Outrage as Trump insists he's selling 'citizenship' to wealthy bidders because he's 'America First'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump defended his new $5 million "Gold Card" scheme during his interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham that aired on Tuesday, March 18, as per Mediaite.

While unveiling the scheme in February, the MAGA leader said, "We’re going to be selling a Gold Card. You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million. And that’s going to give you green card privileges."

The scheme will offer the bidders permanent residency and a path to citizenship. 

Donald Trump's defense of his 'Gold Card' scheme

During the interview, Laura Ingraham pushed back against the incumbent on the subject of offering "Gold Card" visas, and asked, "$5 million investment from a foreigner coming into the United States. Why should our citizenship be purchased for any amount of money, especially given the fact that you are America First?”

"That’s why, because I’m America First," replied Trump. "Because at $5 million, you’re getting a lot of things, but you’re getting $5 million. Let’s say we sell a million of them. That’s $5 trillion. We are now an unbelievably successful country paying down tremendous amounts of debt. It’s all going to pay down debt. We’re going to have very little debt."

Apart from helping to pay off the national debt, the 78-year-old claimed that those purchasing the "Gold Card" would be "job producers," including large companies who are willing to keep bright foreign students within the nation. 

"If you did $5 million, now, generally people that can pay $5 million are going to be job producers, okay? They’re going to be successful, they’re going to produce jobs," he claimed.

"But here’s another thing. Apple comes to me, a lot of companies come to me, they say, 'Sir, we just made a deal to hire the number one student at the Wharton School of Finance or at Harvard Business School or anything else or MIT or Stanford or any of them, but they are going to throw them out of the country the day after graduation.' They’ll buy these," the president added. 

Trump side-stepped Ingraham as she attempted to further grill him on the topic, saying, "I will tell you what my people want to call it. It will drive you crazy. It will drive the left crazy. They want to call it the Trump Card because the Trump Card sells much better than the Gold Card.

Ingraham did get to ask if Trump was "worried about any unsavory people coming in," to which he simply responded, "Yeah, I’m worried about unsavory, in which case we’re gonna give them the money back and they get out.”

"They’ll be properly vetted?" interjected Ingraham, to which Trump said, "Oh, they’re gonna be properly vetted but, you know, we’re talking about a lot of people. I think it’s going to be very successful."

Internet says Donald Trump is 'selling' the country as he defends 'Gold Card' scheme 

Netizens weren't sold on Donald Trump's defense of his "Gold Card" scheme. 

One wrote, "What Trump means is the more Oligarchs that America has the better America will be," and another said, "Selling America."

"Trump’s logic: selling citizenship to anyone with enough cash is ‘America First’? It’s a blatant contradiction—if you truly valued America, you’d protect its integrity, not auction off its birthright to the highest bidder," a person expressed.

Another person stated, "Trump’s logic is as broken as his morals. Selling citizenship while screaming 'America First' is peak hypocrisy—even for him," and a disgruntled individual added, "Everything is for sale. Trump will sell anything for the right price."

"That's weird because it sounds like he's capital first and American last," one more jibed, while another declared, "America is a for-profit operation now." 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.