The shocking attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday captured global attention and has led to a surge in the sale of merchandise.
Influencers and right-wing commentators swiftly moved to monetize the incident. Conservative commentator Candace Owens released a shirt labeled “For God And Country,” depicting Trump with his fist raised following the shooting. Similar shirts are offered by Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump administration official, and various pro-Trump retailers including Trumpmagashop.com and The Trump Store.
Notably, the Hodge twins, a pair of right-wing YouTubers and podcast hosts, introduced a line of products capitalizing on the event. Profits from their five different shirts, such as “Fight! Fight! Fight!” and “You Missed F*ckers,” are promised to fund Trump’s election campaign.
Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, promoted a shirt from Old Row featuring the phrase “If you come at the king you best not miss,” with an image of Trump standing strong after the attempt. Portnoy’s company acquired Old Row in 2016.
Online marketplaces like Etsy and eBay are overflowing with related merchandise. A search on Etsy brings up over 1,000 items, including shirts, stickers, and mugs, while eBay shows more than 1,200 results, among them trading cards.
In China, retailers quickly responded as well. Seller Li Jinewei on Taobao managed to secure over 2,000 orders in just three hours following the news.
This rush to create and sell themed merchandise is a well-established tactic for retailers capitalizing on high-profile events. For instance, following a magnitude 4.8 earthquake in the northeastern U.S. in April, a small retailer made over $9,800 within 21 hours by selling “I survived the NYC earthquake” shirts.
After Trump’s arrest in August 2023 by the Fulton County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office, the market was similarly flooded with merchandise. Trump’s campaign has yet to release products related to the assassination attempt, but it began selling items after the arrest, as did political rivals. Even the band Green Day participated by offering a “nimrod” t-shirt for a limited time.
Trump survived the shooting that resulted in the death of one spectator and critical injuries to two others at the rally. The alleged shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed, according to the Secret Service. Despite the incident, Trump is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee.