Politics are dominating the popular vernacular like never before, and the introduction of the Trump store on Amazon will certainly add to that ongoing conversation.
Touted as “The Official Store of the Trump Organization,” there are 54 items that are being sold online. Selling commercial products is routine procedure for the Trump Organization, which is marking the 40-year anniversary of Trump Tower this year.
Some of the offerings are $47 “Make America Great Again” baseball hats, and an $82 crewneck sweatshirt imprinted with “45” and “47,” as references to President Donald Trump’s two terms. There is also a $28 “MAGA” mug, a $36 “Trump 45-47” flag, a $45 poster of Trump’s mugshot, and other actual mugs including a $28 white “45-47” mug. There are also $38 T-shirts including what seems like a Shepard Fairey-inspired printed one of Trump’s likeness with a fist clenched overhead imprinted with “FIGHT” and another T-shirt with four images of POTUS dancing. The site touts itself as being “proudly made in the United States of America.”
A media request to the Trump Organization was not returned Monday.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to say when the site went live, what percentage of sales Amazon will receive, and whether all of the other sales are earmarked for the Trump Organization. The company also declined to comment about whether Amazon has a policy about political-themed products.
Amazon issued the following statement, “The Official Trump Brand Store is joining millions of other independent sellers who use our services to reach Amazon customers across the country.”
The University of Iowa’s Karen Kedrowski, who is director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, said Monday, “This is not surprising, given Amazon’s enormous reach here in the U.S. Because President Trump has not fully disengaged from his business interests, there is a potential violation of the emoluments clause, just as there was in the first Trump term. At the very least, there is a conflict of interest, which doesn’t seem to bother the president.”
The emoluments clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8) that generally prohibits federal officeholders from receiving any gift, payment or other thing of value from a foreign state or its rulers, officers, or representatives.
Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara, who now has a Fox News show, also has her own signature collection, which is sold online but not via Amazon.
