I’ve been marveling for quite a while at Donald Trump trying to turn his candidacy into money-making opportunities. As regular readers know, the list isn’t short, and it includes everything from silver commemorative coins to the Republican’s cryptocurrency project, Trump-endorsed Bibles to gold sneakers.

But the former president broke new ground last week, unveiling a line of Trump-endorsed wristwatches, the most expensive of which costs $100,000 — far more than the average American’s annual income.

The question, of course, is why he would do this.

The obvious answer is that the GOP candidate is facing a real cash crunch, and he’s not exactly choosy when it comes to merchandising opportunities. But with the watches in particular, there are broader concerns that don’t necessarily apply to the Republican’s other overpriced trinkets.

I’ve seen some suggestions that Trump might be pulling a campaign-finance scheme: A hypothetical wealthy donor wants to give the former president a $100,000 donation — far in excess of the legal limit — so he or she buys an expensive watch. At that point, the nominee could take his cut and write a comparable check in support of his candidacy, since there is no legal limit on what candidates can spend on their own campaigns.

In fact, there would be nothing stopping such donors from buying many of Trump’s watches as part of such a plan.

That’s certainly possible. But it’s also possible that anyone — even foreign governments — could make the same kinds of purchases with the hopes of currying favor with the man who might soon become the leader of the free world. A Washington Post analysis noted:

Here is a company encouraging people to “join President Trump’s watch community,” offering up a product that retails for six figures. Each watch, the website promises, will include a “personalized ‘Thank You’ message from President Trump,” ensuring, it seems, that Trump knows who made the purchase.

And did I mention that the online FAQ noted that buyers can use cryptocurrency or wire transfers to purchase the $100,000 “Trump Victory Tourbillon Watch”? Because that’s part of the offer.

I suppose it’s theoretically possible that the Republican nominee’s campaign, in the very near future, will prove their commitment to transparency by providing the public with a detailed accounting of who and/or what has made $100,000 watch purchases.

But if you believe that’s likely to happen, you might also be interested in buying a degree from Trump University.