T-shirts with Image of Trump Raising Fist after Shooting for Sale in China

AP

10:43 JST, July 17, 2024

BANGKOK (AP) — Images of the moment have already been splashed across the world’s front pages and papered many corners of the internet — former U.S. President Donald Trump, ear bleeding, with his right hand clenched in a fist above the U.S. Secret Service agents surrounding him after he was shot.

And now they’re available on T-shirts for as little as $4 on China’s e-commerce platforms.

Over the weekend, Chinese retailers leapt into action on Taobao and JD.com, the country’s two biggest e-commerce platforms, to profit from the images after an assassination attempt on Trump at a rally Saturday.

“Make America Great Again,” read one T-shirt, according to screenshots that circulated online. “Shooting Makes Me Stronger,” read another.

The shirts used a variety of photos that captured the moment, including one of the most indelible made by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci.

While people around the world may have recognized the power of the images, Chinese manufacturers are particularly well positioned to quickly jump on something trending and make it into a product. It is the world’s factory floor and its highly competitive domestic e-commerce industry means its small retailers are poised to exploit all sorts of consumer product trends.

By Monday, many of the T-shirts were no longer easily found, with a search for “Trump T-shirt” on JD showing no results and on Taobao showing other Trump T-shirts.