Trump unveils $5m US golden visa with his face on the card

U.S. President Donald Trump promoted his new immigration “Gold Card” programme aboard Air Force One on Thursday, as global markets reeled from his announcement of sweeping worldwide tariffs.

The gold-coloured residency cards, which feature Trump’s face and cost $5 million each, would grant wealthy immigrants the right to live and work in the United States without paying taxes on overseas income.

“For $5 million, this could be yours,” Trump told reporters during the flight. “You know what that card is? It’s the Gold Card, the Trump Card”.

When asked who would be the first buyer, Trump responded, “Me,” before adding that the cards would be available in “less than two weeks”.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had previously announced “the sale of 1,000 Gold Cards this week, raising $5 billion in a single day”.

The programme, introduced by Trump in February, would effectively replace the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa programme, according to Forbes magazine.

During the same interaction with reporters, Trump addressed concerns about the negative impact of his newly announced tariffs on global markets, which saw the S&P 500 suffer its worst day since 2020 with a decline of 4.8 percent.

“Well, I mean, it’s to be expected where this is a patient that was very sick,” Trump said. “We really inherited a terrible economy… with a lot of problems”.

He described the economy as a “sick patient that went through an operation on ‘Liberation Day,'” his term for Wednesday when he announced the new tariffs.

“It’s gonna be a booming country… It’s going to be amazing, actually. We see it because we have trillions of dollars committed to come in,” Trump added.

While Trump has repeatedly claimed that tariffs on products imported to the U.S. are paid by the countries where the goods originate, economists note that American companies importing the products typically pay these tariffs and pass much of the costs on to American consumers.

The tariffs have drawn criticism from Democrats, some Republicans, business groups, and trade experts. Economic analysts have warned that the measures could raise prices for U.S. consumers and lead to reduced hiring by employers.

Following Trump’s announcement, tech stocks including Apple and Amazon experienced significant declines, while markets in Asia and Europe also retreated.