Trump’s Taylor Swift inspired merch is incredibly petty

Donald Trump has waged war on the Swifties by releasing a new t-shirt replicating the singer’s iconic Eras Tour merchandise. Seemingly a response to Taylor Swift’s recent endorsement of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the petty merch drop is a sleazy parody that’s painfully cringeworthy for Trump supporters and Swifties alike.

Creating impactful branding is all about standing out from the crowd to carve your own identity, yet Trump’s copycat merch is a low blow that does very little to represent his personal brand. While it’s no easy task to reach the same infamous heights of the Republican red MAGA hat, coming for Miss Swift and her fans is a strange choice that does little to aid Trump’s already bizarre campaign train.

In a recent call to Fox & Friends, Trump voiced that he was “not a Taylor Swift fan” and that she’d likely “pay a price” for her support of the Democrats. Despite this, the Trump campaign dropped its Eras Tour inspired merch shortly after, featuring text reading “Donald J. Trump” and the MAGA slogan. The design features a grid of Trump pictures (including his viral mugshot), replicating the Eras Tour t-shirt down to the pastel pop princess colour scheme. While it works for Taylor, I can’t say it really fits with Trump’s aesthetic.

“Funny how yall don’t like Taylor but don’t mind ripping off her designs,” one X user commented while another responded, “You’re just begging to be sued.” Others found the merch drop rather embarrassing, with one X user replying “Yall are so cringe, and not in a good way,” while one passionate Taylor Swift fan claimed “Us swifties don’t accept this. Watch your back.”

2024’s US electoral race has been a whirlwind ride so far, from Trump’s bizarre NFT trading cards to Kamala Harris’ Brat summer branding, but with plenty of time before election day on 5 November, I’m sure there’s much more absurdity in store. While it’s undoubtedly been bizarre it’s also been a thought-provoking time, prompting some striking magazine art like the recent Atlantic cover.