Merchandise featuring an iconic image of Trump after the shooting has flooded e-commerce platforms.
Just hours after news broke of former President Donald Trump’s shooting during a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, e-commerce platforms quickly began selling T-shirts featuring an iconic image of the defiant leader. The shirts depict Trump pumping his fist in the air with blood dripping from his right ear, symbolizing his survival after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt.
Within two hours of the Associated Press releasing the image, platforms like Taobao were already selling the shirts. A Taobao seller, Ms. Li Jinwei, explained that her team had immediately listed the T-shirts for sale without even printing them beforehand. In just three hours, they received over 2,000 orders from customers in China and the US.
The shirts are being sold on various platforms such as Lazada and Shopee for as low as $15, with additional small-time businesses in the US also capitalizing on the incident. Products featuring the same defiant image are being sold on Redbubble, ranging from $1.03 for smaller items to $104.91 for larger goods.
Notably, conservative duo HodgeTwins promoted a black T-shirt with the same image, paired with the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”. The shirt is priced at $35, with all profits being donated to Trump’s campaign.
Other sellers are marketing T-shirts with phrases like “Undefeated” and “Shooting Makes Me Stronger” for $22.95 each, further capitalizing on the notoriety surrounding the shooting incident.
