Trump Humiliated as Global Elite Reject His Gold Card

President Donald Trump promised America’s ultra-rich a glittering new path into the country with his controversial “Gold Card” visa program — but now even wealthy foreigners and high-powered immigration lawyers are running the other way.

The flashy visa scheme, which Trump has aggressively promoted as a money-making jackpot for the federal government, is already facing mounting embarrassment after top attorneys reportedly warned clients not to touch it.

According to a report from the Washington Post, several immigration lawyers representing billionaire and millionaire clients have serious concerns about the legality and stability of the program. The biggest red flag? Congress never officially approved it.

That means the entire initiative could disappear overnight if courts strike it down or a future administration kills it.

And for the kind of wealthy people Trump hoped would line up to buy their way into America, that uncertainty is a dealbreaker.

“It would be unethical of me to retain them,” immigration attorney Michael Wildes reportedly said when asked about representing Gold Card applicants.

Wildes isn’t just any lawyer. He has represented First Lady Melania Trump, her parents, members of the Kushner family, and several celebrity clients over the years — making his rejection especially awkward for the White House.

Trump first unveiled the Gold Card concept in June before officially launching the program through executive action in September. The administration pitched it as an elite alternative to traditional immigration programs, reportedly costing applicants between $1 million and $5 million depending on the structure, plus a hefty processing fee.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hyped the initiative relentlessly, at one point claiming the government could rake in more than $100 billion from wealthy foreigners eager to buy access to the United States.

But reality appears far less glamorous.

Court filings from the Department of Homeland Security reportedly revealed that only 338 people have even submitted requests for the Gold Card so far — and just 165 actually paid the application fee.

That’s a brutal gap compared to the administration’s earlier boasts.

Even more awkward, Lutnick previously claimed that more than 1,000 Gold Cards had already been handed out before the program was fully operational. Now critics are demanding answers about where those supposed buyers actually are.

Some attorneys are still cautiously entertaining applications, but even they admit the situation looks shaky.

Immigration lawyer Mona Shah reportedly said she warned clients the Gold Card could end up being “false advertising” and might ultimately go nowhere. Still, she said a few wealthy applicants from countries like Nigeria and Pakistan were willing to gamble on it anyway.

The administration has also struggled to explain exactly how the visa would legally function alongside existing immigration pathways. DHS filings reportedly confirmed that Gold Card holders would not bypass highly skilled worker visa categories like EB-1 or EB-2 visas, despite early speculation from critics and supporters alike.

Meanwhile, social media exploded with rumors that rapper Nicki Minaj may have received one of the first Trump Gold Cards after she posted online suggesting she had one.

The White House quickly tried to shut down the speculation, with an official reportedly claiming the card shown online was merely a “memento” and not an actual visa.

The entire rollout has become yet another high-profile Trump initiative surrounded by confusion, conflicting claims, and legal uncertainty — and now the very wealthy crowd it was designed to attract appears increasingly uninterested in buying in.