Pro-Trump influencers and supporters raced to put out merchandise featuring the image of Trump with blood on his face and a fist in the air just hours after the deadly shooting and assassination attempt on Saturday.
By Sunday afternoon, right-wing activist Candace Owens and former Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka had released shirts with the image. “For God and Country,” Owens’ shirt read. “The President of America,” said Gorka’s.
Neither Owens nor Gorka immediately responded to requests for comment from WIRED asking whether they would donate their proceeds to Trump’s reelection campaign or to the families of those who were shot at the rally.
David Portnoy, founder and owner of Barstool Sports, linked to a similar shirt on X made by the Southern fraternity brand Old Row, which was acquired by Barstool in 2016. “If you come at the king you best not miss,” it read.
“Dam you guys already making money off the shooting?” one X user said in a reply to Portnoy. By Sunday afternoon, it appeared as though Old Row had removed the shirt listing. The company did not immediately respond to requests from WIRED to confirm that the shirt had been removed after backlash.
Popular YouTubers and influencers launched their own related merch as well. The Hodge Twins, a pair of influencers with more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube who host the podcast The Hodgetwins, released a shirt featuring the image with the words “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” on Saturday night.
“100% of profits from this shirt go to Trump’s campaign,” they said in a post.
Dozens of TikTok users were also hawking shirts featuring the infamous image on TikTok Shop over the weekend. Some hosted livestreams where they encouraged viewers to purchase their shooting-related merch as if they were hosting a television shopping show.
“Ohhh look another Trump shirt selling today!! 100th one,” one user wrote on a livestream where shirts were being sold.
Richard “FaZe Banks” Bengston, CEO of the esports brand FaZe Clan, appeared to endorse Trump shortly after the shooting, writing “TRUMP 2024” on X. Bengston has more than 5 million subscribers on YouTube. Later, FaZe Clan advertised red MAGA-style hats that read “MAKE FAZE GREAT AGAIN.” FaZe Clan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED asking whether the posts from Bengston and his company were official endorsements.
The incident prompted a number of influencers to endorse Trump. “I pray for peace and prosperity for the world and I believe Trump gives us the best chance at that,” wrote Jake Paul, YouTuber and pro boxer, on Saturday. “When you try and kill God’s angels and saviors of the world it just makes them bigger.” In April, Paul invited Trump to attend his upcoming fight against Mike Tyson. At the time, a Trump official told WIRED that the former president was “seriously” considering attending. Tyson was later injured and the fight was canceled.
Logan Paul, Jake’s older brother, stopped short of endorsing Trump on Saturday, but did write, “To survive an assassination attempt by mere millimeters then stop your security so you can raise your fist in defiance of death is the most badass thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Voting for the bulletproof outlaw,” Tristan Tate, misogynist influencer and alleged human trafficker, wrote on X on Saturday. Andrew Tate, Tristan’s brother who was charged with human trafficking in Romania, also posted messages in support of Trump.
Less than two hours after Trump had his mugshot taken at a jail in Fulton County, Georgia, last year, his campaign had already released merch featuring the image. While the campaign has issued multiple fundraising texts and emails following the shooting, they have not put out any related merch.
