This picture’s worth a thousand pieces of merch — and several million dollars’ worth of fundraising, apparently.
Former President Donald Trump’s historic mug shot has popped up on T-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, bumper stickers, beverage coolers, shot glasses and bobbleheads, as Americans on both sides of the political aisle attempt to use the iconic image for their own purposes — or to cash in on a golden opportunity.
And among the biggest winners is Trump’s own campaign, which reported Friday that it’s raked in more than $11.5 million since the former president’s mug shot was first released last week. “Thank you,” reads an email from Trump to his 2024 campaign’s supporters, which also entices followers to send another $47 contribution to score a ‘”free” mug shot T-shirt. Or donating $35 on the campaign site nets an autographed mug shot poster.
“We successfully reached — and even surpassed — our $2,313,827 goal to close out the month of August,” the email continues, noting that symbolic fundraising goal was Trump’s booking number: 2313827. “In fact, we have now raised over $11,500,000 IN TOTAL since my Mugshot was first released.”
Trump’s 2024 groups have raised more than $20 million in August, according to Fox News Digital report on Tuesday, which could help close the gap with Republican presidential rival Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor has been ahead of Trump in terms of cash on hand, with a super PAC that supports him, Never Back Down, disclosing $96.80 million in cash on hand as of June 30.
In One Chart: How DeSantis is leading Trump in cash on hand, even as the former president dominates in polls
It’s unclear how that $11.5 million is distributed across Trump-affiliated groups, which include his principal campaign committee and political action committees.
But shortly after Trump surrendered at Georgia’s Fulton County Jail to be booked in an election-interference case last week, his 2024 campaign began featuring $34 T-shirts featuring his mug shot and the phrase “Never Surrender!” on its online storefront. By the next morning, the merch page was also featuring long-sleeved T-shirts with the same image, as well as signed posters, coffee mugs, beverage coolers and bumper stickers ranging in price from $12 to $34, with most of the proceeds earmarked for Trump’s campaign.
Related: Donald Trump’s mug shot, the new face of American political scandal
Donald Trump Jr. was also selling his father’s mug shot on T-shirts ($29.99) and mugs ($15) on his own online storefront the next morning, with profits going toward the former president’s legal defense fund. Representatives for this site were also not immediately available for comment.
The mug shot isn’t just being embraced by pro-Trumpers. The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican super PAC, was also selling a $55 set of shot glasses featuring Trump’s mug shot as well as the those of co-consiprators named in the Georgia case, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and John Eastman.
“The desire by Americans fed up with Trump for shot glasses and other mug-shot merchandise is significantly larger than what we anticipated,” Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen told MarketWatch over email, although he did not specify how many sets had been sold so far. He said that the money raised will be used in the Lincoln Project’s efforts to prevent Trump “or one of the other MAGA GOP candidates” from winning the 2024 election.
Instagram influencer Quentin Quarantino, real name Tommy Marcus, is also hawking coffee mugs with Trump’s mug shot on them that read, “Justice Is Brewing.” They are priced at $24.
He wasn’t immediately available for comment but said in an Instagram post that $4 from every sale would go to the Innocence Project to help people “who have ACTUALLY been wrongfully accused.”
“‘My phone has been going ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching all morning.’”
This was to be expected, as experts had previously told MarketWatch that Trump’s mug shot could become “the most famous in the world” and “the cultural icon of our time,” since it’s not only historic, but it can also have meaning for both pro-Trump and anti-Trump shoppers.
“It’s going to be a reminder of a time when he was in power to those who support him,” Craig Agranoff, a Florida-based marketing executive, previously told MarketWatch. And “it will be a symbol of his downfall to those who oppose him.”
Read more: Donald Trump’s mug shot could become ‘the most famous in the world’
Meanwhile, some simply see a merchandising opportunity. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is taking preorders for Trump mug-shot bobbleheads, which are priced at $30 and will be shipped sometime in January 2024. “Whether you are a Donald Trump backer or detractor, the first mug shot of a former president is a historic moment that deserves a bobblehead,” museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said in a statement. “The mug shot will likely be one of the most iconic images and a bobblehead commemorating the moment is sure to be popular!”
Dozens of entrepreneurs are also hawking mug-shot items — primarily T-shirts, hoodies and, yes, mugs — on such platforms as Etsy, eBay and TikTok.
Some of the sellers are in the pro-Trump camp, as their offerings clearly convey. Others are on the anti-Trump bandwagon, and their merch reflects that point of view. And still others have created items that don’t necessarily hint at a political perspective, leaving it open to interpretation.
But if they have one thing in common, the mug-shot merchandisers say it’s that they’re hoping to capitalize on this historic image — no matter who buys their stuff. And some report they’re already succeeding at that.
“My phone has been going ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching all morning,” said Lauren Koontz, an Orlando, Fla.-based Etsy seller who has a Trump mug-shot T-shirt for sale.
The “ka-chings” Koontz mentioned refer to Etsy sale notifications: As of midday Friday, Koontz had already received about 100 orders for the shirt, which carries the message, “F— Around Find Out.” Koontz said she’s opposed to Trump, but conceded the message can be open to interpretation and could work for both pro- and anti-Trump factions.
Koontz noted that she was ready to go as soon as the mug shot was made available. She had made the T-shirt available on pre-order, minus the image, and said it took her all of a minute to add the photo to the Etsy listing. She makes the T-shirts out of her home — doing her own heat-transferring of the image — and if orders pick up, she said she plans to enlist family members to assist.
“Bring it on. We’re ready,” she said.
“‘Trump’s brand is easily merchandisable.’”
Jeff Carnley, an Etsy seller based out of Pensacola, Fla., is selling a variety of T-shirts and a mug, offerings that generally carry a clear pro-Trump message. He also started taking preorders before the photo was out and added the image later. He said he’s gotten about 200 orders so far and is working with a vendor to produce them on demand.
Carnley said he saw a sales opportunity going back to Trump’s first indictment in Manhattan this year in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, but there was no mug shot that case. If anything, he said, the fact that it took four indictments before the world finally saw a mug shot has made the merchandising opportunity all the bigger.
“I think the buildup has increased the demand,” Carnley said.
That’s not disputed by Krysten Copeland, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant. Copeland said it should come as no surprise that mug-shot merchandise has quickly become a hot item, noting that Trump has always found a way to put his name and ideas out there, as evidenced by those ubiquitous red MAGA hats.
“Trump’s brand is easily merchandisable,” Copeland said.
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