The Trump Store launched at least 168 new products online costing $13,803.92 total between Election Day and Inauguration Day, according to a new analysis by CREW. That marks 168 more items sold by a president-elect’s company for personal profit during the presidential transition period than any former president-elect. Even in the lead up to Trump’s first term, he did not monetize the transition period with merchandise in the same way, making these products an unprecedented way for supporters to funnel money to an incoming president.

The Trump Store is not run out of the Trump campaign but by the Trump Organization itself, the for-profit Trump empire that directly feeds into the Trump family’s pockets. And it’s not subtle about what it’s selling: anything and everything President Trump.

The launch of the Trump Store back in 2017 already raised ethics alarm bells, prompting concerns that the store was yet another channel for Trump to make money off of the presidency. Even then, the Trump Store maintained a veneer of separation from the Trump campaign, and only apparently started stocking campaign inventory like red “Make America Great Again” hats after Trump lost the 2020 election.

But this time around, MAGA hats dominate the store’s landing page—and the TRUMP45 Collection, 45-47 Collection and Inauguration Collection are all on offer as well. The store now hosts seventy-eight products valuing $8,180 that explicitly allude to Trump’s second presidency.

On Inauguration Day, the store listed 1,725 different products on the site, with a number of items out of stock. Still, it would have cost a supporter $36,273.87 to buy one of each in-stock item. A $200 MAGA Victory Blanket and $30 Inauguration Seal Mugs, $550 45-47 Bling Clutch and $120 45-47 Rocks Glass Set are some of the highlights.

It’s not normal for a president to profit off of the presidency but Trump has done so blatantly before and even more unabashedly this time. Renewed attention towards his crypto and stock conflicts may make his profiting from the Trump Store look like a drop in the bucket—but the store is quietly making Trump millions, with over $3 million in sales in 2023, a huge leap from its first full year in operation in 2018 when its yearly sales were $520,305.

While visits to Trump properties helped Trump accumulate over 3,700 conflicts of interest in his first term, buying from Trump online—whether it’s stock in Trump Media and Technology Group, a token on World Liberty Financial or a MAGA hat purchased from the Trump Store—provides a seemingly infinite supply and buyers shielded from public view, all facilitated by the click of a few buttons.

The Trump Store’s launch of so many new items during this transition period foreshadows how the store will seek to profit off of Trump’s second presidential term. The Trump Organization may have announced an ethics pledge that detaches Trump from the store’s day-to-day management, but that doesn’t change the fact that the store’s profit model is directly tied to Trump’s political life and at the end of the day, will still put money in Trump’s pockets.

Trump seems determined to make merchandising the presidency seem normal. It’s up to us to remember that it is not.

Caitlin Moniz contributed to this piece.

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