Donald Trump’s business organization has begun marketing “Trump 250” merchandise that ostensibly allows the president to personally profit from the nation’s upcoming anniversary celebration.
The Trump Organization’s Trump.com website now features a $200 “Trump 250” blanket and a $72 crewneck sweatshirt with the “exclusive Trump 250 logo.”
Meanwhile, there’s a $42 drink tumbler, a $38 T-shirt, a $32 tote bag and a $28 airplane coffee mug “perfect for celebrating America’s big birthday.” For those intent on modeling their swing after that of the chief executive, a set of three “Trump 250” golf balls goes for $18.
The swag blitz comes after NOTUS exclusively reported that DTTM Operations LLC, which manages trademarks used by Trump and his businesses, filed applications last month with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark several “Trump 250” images and wordmarks, which now appear on the Trump Organization merchandise.
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It’s also unrelated to America250, the nonpartisan organization tasked with overseeing the nation’s observance of 250th anniversary festivities.
Asked whether Trump is attempting to monetize the semiquincentennial for his own benefit, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle replied that “President Trump is ensuring that America gets the spectacular birthday it deserves.”
“The celebration of America’s 250th anniversary is going to display great patriotism in our Nation’s Capital and throughout the country, and he is proud to participate in our semiquincentennial celebration,” Ingle said. “The only special interest guiding the Trump Administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.”
But Lisa Gilbert, co-president of government watchdog group Public Citizen, said the president’s “Trump 250” products are “a particularly blatant, easy-to-understand example” of “corruption at its finest.”
“This shows it’s all for him, all about him, we should all love him,” Gilbert said.
In his second term, Trump has obliterated the traditional firewall between a president’s governmental service and personal financial ambition.
Trump continues to own the Trump Organization, a private company that houses many of the president’s for-profit business ventures, including his real estate holdings. Trump also has large stakes in cryptocurrency and media operations. In 2024, Trump became a convicted felon after a jury found him guilty on 34 counts of business document fraud.
Trump and his family have made millions of dollars from — as The New York Times recently wrote — a “vast economy of tchotchkes and trinkets.”
As president, Trump has also sought to place his name on numerous public facilities and initiatives, from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida to a new kind of government-backed savings account for children. Trump has likewise sought to place his name and image on money itself, including his signature on paper currency and face on a commemorative gold coin.
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