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People are already turning the Trump assassination attempt into merchandise
Everyone from conservative influencers to small Etsy shops are cashing in
By William Gavin, Quartz Media
PublishedYesterday
The attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on Saturday stunned and captivated millions across the world. It also ignited a merchandise feeding frenzy.
Influencers, as usual, were among the first to cash in on the incident. Conservative commentator Candace Owens has started selling a shirt that reads“For God And Country” and features a rendition of Trump with his fist raised above his head following the shooting. Similar shirts are being offered by Sebastian Gorka, a movie star and former Trump administration official, and pro-Trump retailers, like Trumpmagashop.com or The Trump Store.
The Hodge twins, a pair of right-wing YouTubers and podcast hosts, have launched a series of products capitalizing on the incident. They’ve pledged that all profits from their five separate shirts — one of which reads “Fight! Fight! Fight!” while another says “You Missed F*ckers” — will go toward Trump’s election campaign.
Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, has advertised a shirt from Old Row that reads “If you come at the king you best not miss” and features an image of Trump standing triumphant after the assassination attempt. Portnoy’s company purchased Old Row in 2016.
And similar merchandise is flooding online marketplaces from Etsy to eBay. A simple search on Etsy already draws more than 1,000 results for related products such as shirts, stickers, and mugs, while a similar search yields more than 1,200 results on eBay, including at least one trading card.
At least one Chinese retailer began advertising products on online shopping platform Taobao “as soon as we saw the news about the shooting,” seller Li Jinewei told The Times of India. Their store notched more than 2,000 orders within three hours.
Making such merchandise has become a tried-and-true method for retailers looking to make a quick buck by capitalizing on anything that draws the attention of the masses. Just 21 hours after a magnitude 4.8 earthquake hit the northeastern U.S. in April, a small retailer made more than $9,800 off an “I survived the NYC earthquake” shirt, CNBC reported.
After Trump was arrested and booked by the Fulton County, Georgia, Sherrif’s Office in August 2023, merchandise flooded the internet. Trump’s campaign, which has not yet released any products related to the assassination attempt, soon began offering merchandise, as did political rivals. Even Green Day got in on the action, selling a ‘nimrod’ t-shirt for 72 hours.
Trump is safe after the shooting that led to the death of one spectator and critically injured two others attending the rally. The alleged shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, is also dead, according to the Secret Service. Trump is still slated to speak at the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee.
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