Let The Graft Begin

Created
Sat, 07/12/2024 - 04:00
Updated
Sat, 07/12/2024 - 04:00
The corruption this time is going to be epic Last February, as Donald Trump was running for the Republican presidential nomination, he appeared at SneakerCon in Philadelphia to debut his latest branded product, gold sneakers emblazoned with the number 45. They retailed for $399 and reportedly sold out immediately, or at least orders for them did. They ended up going for thousands of dollars on ebay. Nobody knew exactly where these sneakers were made or who was making them but Newsweek reported that the designs were trademarked by  CIC Ventures LLC out of Palm Beach and its managers were two Trump associates. The website states that the company selling the shoes is located in a small town in Wyoming and declares that the shoes “are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals.” It uses the name, image and likeness under a license agreement. That same company is now selling a new product called “Fight, Fight, Fight” cologne and perfume which sell for $199, also under a license agreement. There’s also a $100,000 gold watch and guitars that go for as much as $11,500 for an American Eagle edition autographed by Trump himself all of which come out of the same company in Wyoming. These licensing deals are the same sort of consumer branding he did before he was president when he put his name on everything from steaks to water to ties and more. It was…