When even an assassination attempt becomes a concert tee
Of all the images that have flooded the national conversation since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, one in particular was destined to become part of history, the record of this particular national trauma. Taken by Evan Vucci of The Associated Press, it shows Trump with blood streaks on his face, fist raised in the air. Surrounded by a crouching phalanx of Secret Service agents, he seems to be rising up. Behind him, against a bright blue sky, flies an American flag.
Why this one? In part because of the front pages on which it appeared or the social feeds that it flooded; in part because it so effectively captured the import and ethos of the critical event, of defiance in the face of fear. In part because the blood and terror against the red, white and blue is an unforgettable contrast. And in part because, of all the pictures taken that day, it is the one that has become part not just of the official record, but the pop culture record.
ADVERTISING
It has been merched.
On Etsy, as of Monday morning, not even 48 hours after the shooting, there were already more than 100 listings of T-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs for sale with the picture on them, along with such slogans as “Fight,” “Not Today” and “Never Surrender.” Teleteeshirt has a version with the line “Legends Never Die.” Sebastian Gorka, a radio host and former Trump adviser, is offering a similar tee for $29.99 that reads “The President of America.”
And it is not simply a national phenomenon. According to The South China Morning Post, Taobao, a site owned by Alibaba, began selling “Shooting Makes Me Stronger” tees with the photo on the front within three hours of the assassination attempt. Photos of the shirts displayed in market stalls in China are popping up on Instagram.
(As to who owns the copyright to the image, Vucci said it was AP. Lauren Easton, a vice president of corporate communications for AP, said the news agency reserved its rights to the photo, but she did not respond to questions about whether AP would pursue a legal remedy for its unauthorized use.)
The Trump campaign itself has not joined this particular merchandising fray, but in many ways the “Fight” T-shirts are the natural evolution of the memorabilia created around Trump’s Georgia mug shot, first by the Trump team itself and then by supporters, opponents and straightforward profiteers. In those cases, the photos became identifiable symbols of otherwise almost unimaginable moments in the political cycle, moments that crystallized the emotions — good and bad — roiling the country.
Turning an event like this into a souvenir enables fans and followers to participate at a distance, while at the same time reducing the trauma to a two-dimensional logo — a concert tee for an experience to commemorate. It makes it consumable.
As with the mug shot, the “Fight” shirts seize control of the narrative. The scary, painful image becomes less the preservation of a rupture in the American story than a rallying cry. If the mug shot merch was calculated to underscore the image of Trump as an unfairly persecuted candidate refusing to give in, the assassination attempt tees elevate his image to that of a martyr. By wearing them, his supporters are able to declare their allegiance for all to see. It puts the T-shirts in the genetic line of Che Guevara and Mao tees. They become part of the unofficial uniform of belonging, like the MAGA caps. A costume, rather than a cataclysm.
No one understands the importance of theater and costume better than Trump, a politician forged in the cauldron of reality TV who has long voiced his appreciation for the virtues of casting his support staff. Just as he has long understood the power of consumer culture. (He did, after all, sell pieces of his mug shot suit, like saintly relics.) Given his history of commodifying his own reputation and name, perhaps it was inevitable that others would see an opportunity to profit after the shooting. And that the products might seem less like the exploitation of pain than a declaration of defiance.
But in making merch about this particular event, they diminish its importance and render what was by any definition a crisis, trivial. The rupture has been T-shirt-ized. The consequences are still unknown.
