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Strategy October 03, 2024

Election 2024: A Rundown of the Buzziest & Most Creative Presidential Merch

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have both tapped into “moment merch” based on significant campaign developments to win over voters.

By  Hannah Rosenberger

After the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Sept. 10, global pop star Taylor Swift took to Instagram to announce her support for Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.

The Harris-Walz campaign wasted no time capitalizing on Swift’s endorsement of the Democratic ticket. The next morning, a set of two “Harris-Walz” friendship bracelets – which have become a symbol of Swift’s The Eras Tour over the past year – appeared on the campaign’s official merchandise store, retailing for $20.

Swift mania, however, appears to be a bipartisan effort, as Trump too sought to appeal to the singer’s massive fan base with merch. Two days after the debate, his campaign announced a “Trump Era” T-shirt clearly modeled after Swift’s tour merchandise, available in black or white for $36.

Political campaigns this century have dramatically raised the creativity of their merch and haven’t been shy about turning viral moments into a memorable promo item. In this election, and especially over the last few months, much of both candidates’ official merchandise has been based on significant moments in their respective campaigns.

In July, for example, the Trump campaign wasted no time releasing merchandise with the now-familiar image of Trump raising his fist to the cameras after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Bethel Park, PA, injured the former president and resulted in the death of one of the event’s attendees.

“Fear Not” shirts ($26) and mugs ($25) that featured the image were available on Trump’s campaign storefront within a day or two of the shooting. That’s expanded since to include other items, like a tee emblazoned with just Trump’s fist and a signed photo in a display holder.

The store also maintains a collection of merch featuring Trump’s August 2023 mug shot, which went viral after Fulton County Jail in Georgia released it following the former president’s arrest. When the “Never Surrender” mug shot products first launched last year, they were reportedly earning the campaign millions. On the storefront now, they’re joined by a collection of stickers, T-shirts and mugs featuring a version of the image stylized in red, white and blue.

See our previous coverage of the most attention-getting merch this election from both Democratic candidates and GOP candidates.

The viral moments the Harris-Walz campaign have capitalized on are a bit more lighthearted.

After Walz was announced as Harris’s VP candidate, for example, his speech at the Democratic National Convention referenced giving fourth-quarter pep talks to his football team. His background as a high school teacher and coach prompted a selection of appropriately themed items, including signage at events and a COACH! T-shirt.

Similarly, when a 2021 Fox interview where Trump’s vice-presidential pick, J.D. Vance, referred to top Democrats as “childless cat ladies” resurfaced in July, the Harris campaign launched a merch line of “Childless Cat Lady” and “Childless Dog Lady” mugs and T-shirts. They’re no longer available on her campaign store, but several unofficial variants have sprung up instead.

But the Harris-Walz campaign’s biggest promo success came from a camo hat – sourced from promo supplier Unionwear (asi/73775) – printed with “Harris Walz” in orange block letters. Leaning into both Walz’s background as a Midwesterner and hunter and the merch’s mimicry of breakout pop star Chappell Roan, there was reportedly more than $1 million in product sold in less than a day.

And Harris’s merch storefront has continued to lean into that branding, releasing a new camo and orange Hedley & Bennett apron, retailing for $95.

Classic Picks

For Harris, almost any merch is new merch, as she’s only been a candidate in this election since President Joe Biden stepped aside at the end of July. By contrast, many Trump supporters may already have a “Make America Great Again” cap or flag from 2016 or 2020 – possibly a factor why Trump has spent significantly less on promo during this election than previously.

Still, both candidates’ presidential election merch features a plethora of classic campaign merch emblazoned with the candidates’ names.

Trump’s store boasts a vast collection of “coalition” merchandise to appeal to demographics like “Veterans for Trump” or “Students for Trump,” along with the now-ubiquitous MAGA hats in a variety of colors and styles, which retail for $40. Ace Specialties (asi/103553), based in Louisiana, has been Trump’s go-to distributor for products like these since the 2016 election.

Many of Harris’s offerings lean into the potential for her to become the United States’ first female president, featuring slogans like “Madame President” and “Yes She Can.”

There’s also a collection of pieces created by well-known American designers like Vera Wang and Tory Burch in support of Harris and her campaign. Each of 16 designers was asked to incorporate campaign themes and issues that they were most passionate about in their products, according to Vogue.

“Moment merch,” though, has also taken over the unofficial election merch scene.

After a viral endorsement from Charli XCX, whose summer album brat took over the internet with its lime green aesthetic, the Kamala HQ social media pages adopted similar branding, and sites like Etsy populated with unofficial brat-themed Harris merchandise. Some of it was coupled with one of Harris’ other viral moments – a 2023 speech at a commissioners’ swearing in ceremony, which included the line “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”

lime green t-shirt, DEM political merch

This lime green T-shirt on Etsy combines the aesthetic of Charli XCX’s brat album with a now-viral quip from Harris.

Trump has a more symbiotic relationship with his unofficial merch vendors – there’s a band of them that often travel around to his campaign events to set up shop, selling everything from “Make America Great Again” flags and stickers to visors featuring attached hair that mimics Trump’s. Many of them source products from Lee’s Trade in Michigan, whose website includes a number of products referencing the rally shooting, as well as curios like crossbody purses shaped like Trump with an embedded pop fidget.

You Missed GOP political flag

This flag, sourced from wholesale producer Lee’s Trade, also features a version of the image from the Bethel Park rally shooting alongside the taunting slogan “You Missed.”

Unofficial merch featuring key quips from the presidential debate popped up almost immediately following the event. Harris supporters jabbed at Trump’s “concepts of a plan” with T-shirts featuring the quote as a question, while Trump supporters fired back with “I’m talking now” merch, referencing the former president’s callback to Harris being interrupted by Mike Pence during the 2020 vice-presidential debates.