Republican Party sells ‘Notorious ACB’ T-shirts moments after Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination
- Nickname style originated with Ruth Bader Ginsburg -known for her fiery dissents - who had become a legal and pop-culture icon
- Shirt sales were criticised by California Governor Gavin Newsom, WHO tweeted that it “makes me sick to my stomach”
Minutes after the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the National Republican Senatorial Committee began selling “Notorious A.C.B.” T-shirts, a play on Ginsburg’s nickname, the “Notorious RBG.”
US President Donald Trump officially announced his nomination of Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, on Saturday evening from the White House Rose Garden. The NRSC began tweeting about the shirts where Barrett is depicted with a crown soon after the official nomination.
Barrett’s confirmation came a day after Ginsburg became the first woman to lie in state in the US Capitol.
Ginsburg earned the notorious nickname late in her 27-year tenure on the High Court, after her dissent in the 2013 landmark Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder. Ginsburg said in 2017 that the moniker — a play on rapper Biggie Smalls’ nickname, The Notorious B.I.G. — was first used by a New York University Law student, and it quickly stuck.
While the nickname was inspired by a specific dissent, it resonated because Ginsburg was already known for her fiery dissents and had become a legal and pop-culture icon. Shirts with Ginsburg’s image in her iconic lace collar and adorned with a crown — reminiscent of one worn by Smalls in his final photo shoot — also rose to prominence.
A crown was similarly added atop Barrett’s image in the NRSC T-shirts, though the one worn by Trump’s nominee is ringed with crosses.
The NRSC is also selling “Fill the Seat” shirts, referring to a chant that broke out a day after the death of Ginsburg during Trump’s campaign rally in North Carolina.
The shirt sales were met both with support and criticism on Twitter, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, tweeting that it “makes me sick to my stomach.”
