The “SHOP” section of Trump’s Web site features hats and T-shirts, as well as stemless wineglasses, plastic straws, playing cards, and Christmas stockings emblazoned with Trump’s name.
The former President made good use of the office’s opportunities for merchandising.
Although his stock includes gay-pride, Tupac Shakur, and Antifa flags, the Trump campaign, Presidency, and post-Presidency have been particularly good for business. Three years ago, with the market for flags booming, David went into business for himself. Back then, he helped his stepfather sell banners to people who wanted to proclaim their allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys or to the state of New Mexico, among other things. “We drove all over, looking for the best spot.” The “Save America” rally in Florence, Arizona, hadn’t officially begun, but he’d already sold sixty Trump-themed flags, most for $39.95.ĭavid, a first-generation American whose family moved to the Southwest from Mexico when he was a child, has been in the flag business since he was fifteen. “I’ve been awake for twenty-four hours,” David, a roadside flag vender, told me cheerfully on Saturday, January 15th. On rally days, the Trump-merchandise seller’s work begins before dawn.