OPINION: Political merchandising has gotten out of control

James Oatis

He/Him

Staff Writer

3/28/24

I recently visited a restaurant and grocery store in Naples, Florida called Seed to Table. Though the business sold typical items, there was one major exception. A corner was dedicated to conservative icons: a merchandise shrine for people like Donald Trump and MyPillow’s Mike Lindell. Seeing the wall made me come to terms with an unfortunate theory that I had been considering. In the United States, political expression has simply become a way for individuals and corporations to make more money. 

The shrine was likely the idea of Seed to Table’s owner, Alfie Oakes. Oakes has hosted conservative politicians including Vivek Ramaswamy at his restaurant, and helped send 100 people to D.C. in charter buses for January 6th. Despite his far-right views, Oakes’s farms were caught using undocumented laborers in 2014 to increase profits. 

The idea of political merchandise is nothing new and dates back throughout American history. One of the earliest modern campaigns of political merchandising dates to the Eisenhower campaign with the “I Like Ike” buttons. The presence of small merchandise like t-shirts and pins to increase advocacy and get campaign funds stayed more or less constant until 2008. When Illinois senator Barack Obama ran for President, the advertising and merchandising machine ramped up significantly, with people not even involved with the campaign selling Obama merchandise of all kinds. An excerpt from a 2008 Politico article describes how, “on Etsy, a crafts auction website, you can buy Obama jewelry, paintings, and even a homemade Obama Valentine.” They dubbed this fanatic merchandising campaign “Obamamania.”  

The commercialization of American politics was made infinitely worse by celebrity businessman Donald Trump’s 2016 “Make America Great Again” presidential campaign. The infamous red hats with white lettering made Donald Trump $80,000 a day back in 2016, and were the catalyst for where we are now for political merch.  

Republican and conservative ideals are now just marketing labels. Black Rifle Coffee uses a “pro-Trump, pro-gun and pro-military stance” to sell their product. MyPillow funds and promotes conservative philosophies to sell pillows. In the second quarter of 2020, “MyPillow was responsible for nearly 40 percent of all paid advertising on Carlson’s show,” the Washington Post said. The nail in the coffin, however, is the $399 Trump “Never Surrender” golden sneakers that he recently released. Trump’s ludicrous asking price shows he cares little to none about his supporters – unless they are buying his overpriced goods. Nobody wins when politics are monetized except the people selling the products. Political identity should be based on beliefs, ethics, and voting patterns, not merchandise you buy from profiteers trying to make a quick dollar.