Republicans love that The Trump Organization is now selling “Trump 2028” merchandise, with some of them even arguing that the outrage is the point. But many Republicans who count themselves as fans of President Donald Trump are less sure about personally wearing that slogan.
The Trump Organization is selling “Trump 2028” merchandise, including a red hat for $50 and can coolers for $18 that both say, “Trump 2028.” There’s also a red T-shirt available for $36 that includes the phrase, “Rewrite the Rules.”
Rep. Jeff Van Drew told NOTUS that while he’s “always supportive” of Trump, he doesn’t see himself wearing the hat.
“As much as I love him, I really don’t believe we’re going to change the Constitution,” Van Drew said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. So I don’t think I’ll be wearing the hat. I’ll wear a MAGA hat. I’ll wear a Trump hat. I don’t think I’d be wearing that hat.”
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Trump has a penchant for toying publicly with the idea of running for a third term, but the merchandise is the latest indicator that his circle is embracing his comments. One of his sons even wore the hat in a photo boosted on social media by Trump’s political team.
Some lawmakers brushed off questions about the merchandise. Sen. Rand Paul told NOTUS to come up with “better questions” and said the hat’s message would be taken in good fun.
“I think that we would have to take things with a sense of humor, but that’s the only way I would see something like that,” Paul said.
Rep. Jim Jordan told NOTUS that he would wear the hat and didn’t “have a problem with” it.
“He’s just trolling everyone, having a good time,” Jordan said.
For months Trump has made comments about continuing his time in office, telling NBC News in March that he was “not joking” about looking at his options. In a Time interview published last week, Trump reiterated that there were “some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known.”
One think tank has raised the idea of Trump running as vice president to then take office after the elected president steps down. Republicans and legal scholars dismissed the possibility as improbable, while also acknowledging that a gray area in the Constitution may theoretically allow him to do so.
In Congress, the idea of another Trump term has gained little traction despite Trump’s repeated comments and the fact that one lawmaker has even proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would allow the president to serve another term.
On Monday, after a two-week recess, a wide array of Republicans on Capitol Hill still were not taking Trump’s threat of running again seriously.
Sen. Ted Budd said that he “loves Donald Trump.” But when asked by NOTUS if he’d wear the hat, he said, “Why don’t we not talk anymore.”
And Sen. John Boozman reiterated that the Constitution prevents Trump from running in 2028, adding that if other members of his party want to wear the hat, then “that’s their business.”
“They can sell anything,” Rep. Dale Strong of Alabama told NOTUS, adding that he hadn’t been “offered” a hat yet. “It [doesn’t] matter what he sells, everybody’s gonna buy it. I think he’s done a phenomenal job in the first 100 days. I hope we can stay consistent and make our country stronger.”
Other Republicans decided not to comment on the new merchandise.
“I’m not gonna comment on that,” Sen. James Lankford told NOTUS. “I didn’t even know those existed. So I’m not worried about that yet.”
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Torrence Banks is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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