President Donald Trump’s official 2020 re-election campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com, recently started selling football jerseys in order to support standing for the national anthem.
The red jerseys feature the words “Stand Up for America” written on the front — along with number 45 on both sides of it and the last name “Trump” on the back. (Trump, of course, is the 45th president of the United States.)
The sleeves also feature American flags embroidered on them. The site says they are “proudly made in the USA.”
Trump merchandise produced in the United States is made by Ace Specialties, a manufacturing company based in Louisiana, as Business Insider and other outlets have pointed out.
The “Stand Up for America” jerseys cost $99.99 apiece and are available in both men’s and women’s varieties.
The jersey was first sold back in September, around the time the NFL regular season began, but the jerseys have garnered more attention in recent days. Demand for the jerseys has been “brisk,” as the New York Post and other outlets are reporting. The site warns, “Due to high demand, please allow 4-5 weeks to receive your jersey.”
Exact sale figures have not been released.
The jersey’s popularity should not come as a surprise. There’ve been some positive reactions on social media already.
That is great. Fight fire with fire. As for the people who did not bother to read, they are made in USA and frankly guess you were also too illiterate to read that they are being sold by the campaign. That would be the campaign to re-elect President Trump.
— Maddy (@steeley8756) October 7, 2018
Great idea
— Mommycoolio (@Pocahan89388948) October 10, 2018
This is absolutely brilliant.
— Mr. Dairenn Lombard (@Dairenn) October 9, 2018
President Trump’s campaign adviser, Lara Trump, also told the Post that the jersey is a reflection of the president’s “fervent belief that Americans should always stand for our national anthem.”
The president has been a vocal critic of the NFL in the past two years because of the anthem-kneeling players who have shown disrespect toward the American flag — and of the league as a whole for not putting a policy in place mandating that players stand.
Last year, when he suggested that players who kneel for the flag be fired, the number of players kneeling for the anthem spiked to 180 players, or 12 percent of the league, the following week.
Plus, back in June, he also disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from the White House after they won the Super Bowl, because most of the team was boycotting the trip.
Until the NFL does something about its national anthem policy, it appears as though President Trump will continue to quarrel with the league in one way or another — and the jerseys are just the most recent example.
Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, and other outlets.
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