Editor’s Note: ASI Media is ramping up our coverage of election merch and will be reporting on both presidential candidates’ merch in the leadup to November, including an upcoming event for President Joe Biden.

In 2016, former President Donald Trump made history with iconic red “Make America Great Again” caps that became reference points in America’s culture wars. Over the last two elections, Trump continued his strategic and prolific investment into merch.

As rallies for the upcoming November election heat up, branded merch continues to play an outsized role. Consider the June 22 event held at Temple University, not too far from ASI’s offices.

Torso mannequins bearing tees with American flags, guns and mugshots lined North 15^th Street in Philadelphia. Messages like “Stop the Steal,” “Never Surrender” and, of course, “Make America Great Again” printed in bold lettering embodied the conspicuous energy of the former president and current Republican presidential candidate’s presence on shirts.

Salespeople were stationed behind folding tables, catcalling passersby with deals, receiving side-eyes, shouts of support, middle fingers and the occasional sale. For a reluctant customer, advancing past the initial vendor on the street was only the first challenge – multiple other tents selling similar, if not the same, products waited just a few steps ahead.

Many of these merchants came from the Wisconsin rally held a few days prior, having followed the Trump campaign in a caravan to Temple University. Some owned screen-printing companies, others were merchandisers. They’re all united as the official unofficial merch vendors of Trump’s 2024 candidacy.

365 Campaign was one of several unofficial merch vendors stationed outside Trump’s recent rally at Temple University.

Though not officially tied to the Trump campaign, the vendors have a symbiotic relationship. Neither entity pays the other directly, a salesperson from 365 Campaign said, but the businesses donate approximately 10% of the revenue they make at the rallies to the campaign in exchange for vending permits.

Promo spending during presidential campaign years reaches into the millions of dollars. During the 2020 presidential election, Trump’s campaign spent around $11.4 million on branded merch, and Biden invested about $2.01 million, according to reports at the time. Those figures, of course, don’t include the unofficial merch sales.

During his current campaign, Trump has been selling official merchandise online but not usually in person at rallies, allowing an opportunity for vendors to step in.

Some sellers make their own hats and shirts. A vendor from North Carolina said his new design, a green shirt with “I’m Voting Felon 2024” in American-flag lettering, was one of his top sellers. His shirts sold for $20 to $25.

He offered a selection of hats, including bucket hats and visors, with designs varying from rhinestone Republican elephants to pink camo bases with “Yes, I’m a Trump Girl 2024” embroidered in white to the classic red MAGA hats for $25 to $30.

Vendors outside of the Trump rally in Philadelphia sold an array of branded merch.

There were notable intersections in the smaller products the vendors sold: stickers, bottle openers, pins and teddy bears. A vendor from Ohio said businesses from the group pull from similar wholesalers, with Lee’s Trade in Michigan being the largest.

This merchandiser sold hats and shirts from Lee’s for a cheaper price to supplement his custom items. All his accessories, from magnets depicting President Joe Biden wearing a bicycle helmet with the words “I Crash Bikes and Economies” to pins with American-flag marijuana leaves, are outsourced.

Multiple vendors offered visors with Trump’s signature golden hair on top.

Items like Trump 2024 visors with attached hair and commemorative Trump coins were sold by multiple vendors on the same block.

The vendor from Ohio said he sells the official MAGA hats that are offered on Trump’s website. He pointed out the distinctions in quality compared to the cheaper unofficial ones, which he also sells – the stitched “Make America Great Again” on the front, “47” and the American flag on the sides and the green under-bill. He said the hats are made in the U.S. and are from the same distributor Trump gets his from. Lafayette, LA-based Ace Specialties (asi/103553) has been a go-to distributor for Trump since the 2016 election.

Life on the road isn’t always easy. These merchandisers, many of whose businesses are family-owned, come from across the country – Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey and Ohio – and must spend much of their time away from home.

Although the vendors are direct competitors who sell the same products to the same buyers just feet away from one another, they say they’ve formed a community. When one vendor is late, another saves their spot. If the city cracks down on the permits, one vendor steps up and works with the government on behalf of everyone.

They all come from different backgrounds and have different motivations for following the campaign, but they are all friends – in fact, one vendor described it as “a family.”