5 ridiculous Trump family sales ideas that got massive backlash, from Donald Jr.’s tasteless Alec Baldwin T-shirts to Ivanka’s unethical Goya Foods shout-out
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From wanting to “sell” Puerto Rico to creating insensitive T-shirts, here are some of the Trump family’s sales ideas that caused trouble instead of making money …
Donald Trump Jr.’s Alec Baldwin T-shirts
![Donald Trump Jr speaks at the 47th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/10/28/40a288ab-e29a-40d0-88d7-6c0f0357778b_aa846840.jpg)
It’s reported that the star – who has portrayed former president Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live over the years – was told by the assistant director that the weapon was a “cold” gun, suggesting it didn’t contain live rounds. Baldwin was pictured distraught after the incident. While the blame has been shifted onto the prop master, some Conservative personalities have used the opportunity to get back at Baldwin for his liberal political views – including Don Jr.
![The T-shirt with the controversial slogan can be found on Donald Trump Jr’s website. Photo: shopdonjr.com](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/10/28/472a4852-862f-44f4-bc31-155465c2ac63_77a16361.jpg)
Don Jr. quickly started selling T-shirts with the slogan, “Guns don’t kill people Alec Baldwin kills people”.
Needless to say, the backlash has not been pretty, with Vanity Fair columnist Bess Levin even dubbing him “sentient pond scum” for the controversial move.
Donald Trump’s “you ain’t black” T-shirts
![Former US president Donald Trump holds MAGA hats during his first post-presidency campaign rally at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, Ohio, US, in June 2021. Photo: Reuters](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/10/28/88f659da-0eca-490d-8181-d57e30f4b601_eecd2875.jpg)
While Trump – for the most part – refused to sympathise, Biden did but was criticised for saying: “Well, I’ll tell you, if you’ve got a problem figuring out if you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
![Donald Trump was quick to capitalise off of rival Joe Biden’s statement by releasing a T-shirt. Photo: trumpstore.com](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/10/28/7ee22283-8781-47e8-be4d-6224ec72b9e0_a0f187be.jpg)
The Trump Campaign jumped on the backlash and started selling merchandise on their website. However, Biden eventually apologised and Trump was left looking like the bad guy.
Donald Trump once wanted to “sell” Puerto Rico
![Puerto Rico. Photo: Handout](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/10/28/157aa7d7-7145-4519-8323-4a3315d99431_33d13f5b.jpg)
If you think selling distasteful T-shirts sounds bad, buckle up – it gets much worse. This one isn’t so much a business idea as it is a complete misunderstanding of how US territories work. Former Department of Homeland Security boss Kirstjen Nielsen’s chief of staff, Miles Taylor, confirmed last year that Donald Trump wanted to, erm, sell the US territory of Puerto Rico.
The former president allegedly suggested selling the Caribbean territory after 2017’s Hurricane Maria or swapping it for Greenland, because he viewed it as “dirty and poor”. Yikes.
Ivanka Trump’s Goya beans boost
![Fashion lover Ivanka Trump was once offered a job at Vogue. Photo: @ivankatrump/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/10/28/70f95a65-a118-4c5c-a4a3-de0dbb8733db_2ca45db1.jpg)
Since she was Donald’s senior adviser at the time, watchdogs questioned whether Ivanka had broken federal ethics laws, as executive branch employees are not allowed to use their positions to promote private businesses.
The Trump Organization’s “White House-inspired” merch
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- Less than a month after the tragic film set shooting incident, Don Jr. is already selling tees that say, ‘Guns don’t kill people Alec Baldwin kills people’
- Donald Trump reportedly wanted to sell US territory Puerto Rico, and hopped on rival Joe Biden’s controversial ‘you ain’t black’ comment with another questionable T-shirt