Trump Bibles, Rudy coffee, Tucker nicotine pouches: the rightwing knick-knack racket

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/30/rightwing-knicknack-racket

If you wanted to, you could smell like Donald Trump. Or you could drink coffee developed by Rudy Giuliani. You could also use a nicotine product developed by Tucker Carlson, read your children a Trump-themed book written by Mike Huckabee, take health pills hawked by Dr Oz and wear T-shirts designed by Kash Patel.

These are only a few of the products that Trump and people in his circle are selling to the American public, as Republicans and the right wing have established an unprecedented culture of grifting – hawking everything from Bibles to scraps of fabric to NFTs in a ruse that has become a multimillion-dollar micro industry.

Trump’s gold sneakers, launched in February, have brought him almost $400,000 alone. He’s also made $300,000 from selling poorly reviewed Bibles, according to financial disclosures, and has recently been pushing a “fight, fight, fight” range of colognes and perfumes.

The incoming president also sells, in no particular order: watches, guitars, boots, drinks coolers, flip-flops, candles, drinking glasses, doormats, water bottles, a “candle care kit”, slippers, corkscrews, a cheeseboard, a bottle opener, dog leashes, a “Gold Trump Serving Tray”, a “Trump Havana Wood Cigar Ashtray”, a $95 Christmas ornament, an $85 passport holder, a picnic blanket, a baseball, a $62 throw pillow and a $70 “Trump Leatherette Coaster Set”.

299 points · 37 comments · view on lemmy.world

37 Comments

MisterNeon@lemmy.world · 72 pts · 1y (7 replies)

The fact "Trump Stores" are a thing and have been around for almost a decade both perplexes and nauseates me.

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 1y (5 replies)

There's a dude that hawks Trump branded shit year round in my area. He has this popup stand with flags, t shirts, hats, and other Trump bullshit. He seems to bounce back and forth between two locations in my town and the next one over, but he does this year round. I know he's making money. He's been doing it for years and there's plenty of idiots flying Trump flags in their yards and on their trucks around here.

I almost wish I didn't have a sense of shame. I wouldn't mind making a few bucks off of the literal worse people in the country by selling them stupid cheap knick knacks.

TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org · 15 pts · 1y (3 replies)

Get a box of 50 flags from Aliexpress for $5, sell them for $10 each. He might not be stupid.

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Oh I don't think he is stupid, at least not in terms of making a buck. I've not actually visited his stand to see his price and quality, but I would venture to guess that his margins are astronomical.

fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 1y

You'd have to talk the talk though.

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y

$10? Try $50. I haven't been to a Trump merch stall, but I've been to plenty of sci-fi conventions, and I imagine their ludicrous markups are less ludicrous than the Trump merch people.

Dhs92@programming.dev · 9 pts · 1y

Huh, someone does that here too. Some black food truck like trailer with a ton of Trump merch

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1y

Yep, I drove by one on an interstate exit on the way to Atlanta last month. Made me want to retch.

CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 41 pts · 1y (7 replies)

For a supposed "billionaire" why all this snake-oil salesman shit?

FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works · 35 pts · 1y (4 replies)

They squeeze the oil from treaded-on snakes.

HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 1y (3 replies)

So that's where snake oil comes from!

Who knew!!

lol

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Yeah, but they can't sell it.

natedog526@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1y (1 reply)

You made my day bringing up one of my favorite holiday movies 😁

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y

Mine too. I have to watch it every year!

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 1y

The same reason Musk keeps finding new ways to grift: The only way to "win" the "game" is to make the most money. And the richer you are, the better you are.

MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 1y

Money laundering. It's money laundering all the way down.

Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world · 26 pts · 1y

Smell like Trump? I can roll in shit for free.

bradorsomething@ttrpg.network · 23 pts · 1y (1 reply)

I’m waiting for the inevitable presidential body pillow that conservatives can dry-trump.

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 1y

I'm not going to look for it, but I guarantee you it already exists.

jlh@lemmy.jlh.name · 21 pts · 1y (3 replies)

As a Swede, the fact that Tucker Carlson and Turning Point are reselling Zyn as their own "masculine" rebranding is hilarious.

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Please tell us Yanks more details, so that we may point and laugh harder!

Flyingpeakock@lemm.ee · 3 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Zyn is a tobacco free alternative to swedish snus that is marketed more towards women and young adults.

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y

Excellent. Thank you.

Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 1y

When you run your country like a corporation and allow it to become a corporate oligarchy, of course it will denigrate to this. This is end-game America.

RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 1y (1 reply)

All meshes with the “buy your way to heaven” mentality the evangelists have. Throwing money at their deity-ordained politician is the same as throwing money at Supply Side Jesus.

captainlezbian@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y

Indulgences for protestants. Martin Luther would be proud

Lemminary@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 1y

Damn, couldn't they make this shit look more tacky? I hope people start dunking on those shoes harder than they did with crocs.

MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y

How else are they going to get cash from the Russians and Saudis?

ininewcrow@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 1y (1 reply)

If I ever buy Turnip branded crap, I'll glady buy the Chinese knockoffs. I'd pay extra and leave a tip if i knew it was definitely Chinese being sold by some alleyway street hustler.

Dagwood222@lemm.ee · -1 pts · 1y

For your viewing pleasure....

https://youtu.be/RVnoc-ISUag

Dagwood222@lemm.ee · -3 pts · 1y (6 replies)
enbyecho@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1y (5 replies)

You know what drives me nuts? People who post Youtube links without even bothering to add the title of the video. I ain't clickin' on that shit bro

Dagwood222@lemm.ee · -7 pts · 1y (4 replies)

Ummm, you do realize that I could any title in the text and then send you to a totally different video?

NobodyElse@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 1y

It’s about it being a low effort post that doesn’t add much to the discussion. A description of why someone would want to click on the link would go a long way.

[That’s aside from the fact that the only people who seem to want to turn a nice textual discussion into a passive, ad-ridden video feed are illiterates and boomers.]

enbyecho@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Really?!?! I had no idea.

Dagwood222@lemm.ee · -2 pts · 1y (1 reply)

History of 'Rick Rolling.'

https://youtu.be/bLiXjaPqSyY

enbyecho@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y

The SHOCKING story behind Goatse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtOD19C7J48