This Trump assassination shirt is a bestseller

//

Lerato Khumalo

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump seems to have an influence on pop culture. A photo becomes a best-seller.

With blood on his face and a fighting fist raised in front of the US flag: The historic image of Donald Trump after the assassination attempt in Butler has been immortalized on fan shirts within less than 72 hours. T-shirts with the motif and the inscription “MAGA Movement Can’t Be Stopped” were already sold on Tuesday (local time) at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Other shirts are printed with the same photo of Trump, covered in blood but appearing combative, with the word “Fearless” written across the chest. According to its designer, Brad Neuser, the fan shirt has been well received by the delegates: “It’s an iconic image,” Neuser told the AFP news agency. Demand is high.

The sale of the shirts is not limited to the party convention grounds. A user posted a photo on X of a man standing on the beach in the town of Wildwood in the US state of New Jersey wearing a shirt with the inscription “Shooting makes me stronger”. Below the text is a picture of Donald Trump with his fist raised.

Chinese companies also reacted quickly, according to a report. According to the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post”, T-shirts were available on major Chinese e-commerce platforms just a few hours after the incident. A Chinese seller told the newspaper that she put the T-shirts up for sale as soon as she read the news. She immediately received more than 2,000 orders. Other retailers in China quickly jumped on the bandwagon and also offered T-shirts.

However, the offers now appear to have been removed for reasons unknown, as a search on major Chinese platforms revealed on Tuesday. Research by the British broadcaster BBC also revealed that the T-shirts were no longer available. The Chinese internet is strictly censored by the government. Offers in Chinese online shops can also be affected by state controls.

Chinese companies are known to produce promotional items for the US election campaign in large quantities and sell them to the United States.

The attack was also a topic of discussion on social networks in China. Many users wrote that Trump’s behavior after the shooting had improved his chances of re-election. Other Internet commentators, however, were amused by the relaxed gun laws in the USA.