Trump 2028: Merch to Consume or a Message to Concern?

Man selling Trump merch at a booth. There are even entire stores and restaurants dedicated to Trump and sell merch there. Photo by Ken Fager via Flickr.

Starting April 24, Trump supporters can now buy hats with “Trump 2028” boldly embroidered on the front. This design is also available on shirts with the addition of “Rewrite The Rules” printed below. This has left the American people questioning if this is just more provocative politics or if this represents the President's unconstitutional intentions. 

When pressed about ambitions to run for a third term, President Trump has been inconsistent and vague. In a March phone interview with NBC, he addressed the rumors, saying that “a lot of people want me to do it,” and that he “wasn’t joking” about another four years. He has seemingly changed his position on the matter, assuring in a Meet the Press interview that he will be an “eight-year president.”

The 22nd Amendment establishes a two-term limit for the Chief Executive position. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) proposed an amendment that would allow for a third term so long as a president’s previous two terms were not consecutive. However, to “rewrite the rules,” this proposition would need to be approved by two-thirds of Congress and three-quarters of all state legislatures.

While “Trump 2028” may not reflect the administration’s future vision, it does reflect the effectiveness of personality politics in our current era.

Characterized as the “first modern election,” the election of 1840 legitimized the powerful effect of campaign marketing. William Henry Harrison employed the usage of songs, slogans and merchandise to help him beat political opponent and Presidential incumbent, Martin Van Buren. Slogans like “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!” emphasized Harrison’s heroism in battle while images of log cabins emphasized his humble beginnings. Log cabin-shaped bottles were also available for supporters to purchase. Many viewed him as the “hard-cider” candidate, and Van Buren as an out-of-touch aristocrat.

Harrison successfully manipulated his public perception to his benefit. Despite actually being born into wealth and never living in a log cabin, his successful marketing campaign won him the presidency.

Presidents since have acknowledged the need to brand themselves in order to gain an advantage on the political stage. Franklin D. Roosevelt spread his urgent messages through easily affordable buttons, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first to utilize TV advertisements and John F. Kennedy embraced the strategic value of the bumper sticker.

Companies have also realized the marketing potential that politics hold. Tobacco companies would sell special election year editions of their product featuring the name and face of one’s candidate of choice; meanwhile, in 1996, you could purchase democrat or republican Kraft Mac n' Cheese (the noodles were either donkeys or elephants).

Therefore, businesses, citizens and presidents have historically used the highest position of power as a marketing ploy to receive more business and revenue. However, historians like Summer Anne Lee, a fashion history professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), believe that “Trumpism goes beyond the norm;… It's impossible to ignore that Trump has developed a cult of personality where his most passionate fan base idealizes him as an American hero.”

In his book “Man Enough?,” Jackson Katz describes the “Trump Booklet.” For him, Trump’s advertising is “the most recent manifestation of a phenomenon that political analysts have recognized for years… Republicans today understand that presidential races are about character and personality, whereas the Democrats’ instinct is to try and beat their opponent into submission with sheaves of policy papers,... Democrats somehow think that presidential elections are like… Jeopardy [when]... Republicans understand it’s American Idol.”
Thus, the idea is blatantly unconstitutional; the “Trump 2028” hat can also be interpreted as an assertion of Trump’s strongman performance. Though the president is now on record denying a third term, his recent infringements on the Constitution still leave people worried. Regardless, the success of any Trump merch will correlate with the success of his presidency.