What Exactly Is Donald Trump Hiding
Donald Trump is joined by daughter Ivanka at a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club, June 7, 2016.
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In recent months, China Labor Watcha workers rights group that has successfully connected numerous US corporations with exploitive working conditions in Chinese factorieshas tried and failed to locate the facilities in China that have churned out millions of dollars worth of gaudy shirts, pants, and neckties for Donald Trumps various clothing lines. With little publicly released information to work from, the organization scoured Chinese-language job-board postings, contacted a third-party intelligence firm, and even queried a congressional committee. Yet it was all to no avail. The names and locations of Trumps overseas factories appear to be yet another secret relating to his fortune.
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Here Are All Of The Trump Products Made Overseas
When right-wing commentators are not making bizarre apologies for sexual-assault braggart Donald Trump’s “locker room talk,” they are praising him for how great he is on trade. Trump talks big about how he will bring back jobs, not let them leave in the first place, and place tariffs on goods made in other countries, punishing corporations that offshore jobs. On this topic, like every other, Trump could be said to be stretching the truth so much it practially violates the Geneva Conventions, as he has been a prime offshorer of jobs on his path to billionaire status and has a well-documented history of treating small businesses and craftspeople like crap.
Much like his other bold policy prescriptions, Trump’s promise to bring back our jobs from crooked China and ensure that all of our products are made right here in the USA runs completely counter to reality. His history of outsourcing his products is as long as his history of bankruptciesin fact, he has previously sung the praises of outsourcing, even promoting outsourcing to students at his fraudulent Trump University.
But it wasn’t until an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2012 when Trump was publically mocked and exposed as a serial and deceptive outsourcer of jobs. Trump was boasting incoherently about his crappy ties and where they were made, when Letterman chimed in and said, “They were made in China and Bangladesh.”
1. Trump apparel
2. Trump home Items
3. Trump hotel items
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Ivanka Trump’s Clothing Line
At last year’s “made in America” event, the White House defended the president’s daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump after an investigation by The Washington Post found that her namesake clothing and accessories brand relies exclusively on factories in Bangladesh, Indonesia and China.
“There are certain things we may not have the capacity to do here in terms of having a plant or a factory that can do it. The beautiful thing about a capitalistic society is if there’s enough of a demand for it, it will happen,” then-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said last July.
Hotel And Gift Shop Goods
Many of the products used in Trump hotels are from overseas.
The Trump-branded bedding is a mixed-bag. Take this comforter, for instance: The shell is made in China, while the filling and assembly is completed domestically. The matching pillows are begun in China and finished in the U.S.
USA Today reported that his new Washington hotel has chandeliers are from Austria, hallway lamps from China, phones from Malaysia, televisions from South Korea, towels from India, plush robes from China and glasses from Italy. The mattress and pillows, it was noted, are American-made.
Many Trump-branded products sold in the gift shop of the Washington hotel are made overseas, too. The Daily Beast reports that a $32 golf hat is made in Bangladesh, a $50 Trump-branded fleece is made in Pakistan, and an $80 pullover is made in Vietnam. A $15 Trump conditioner and a $15 Trump body butter both listed Canada as its country of origin.
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The Outsized Entrepreneurial World Of Trump Merchandise
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On rally days, the Trump-merchandise sellers work begins before dawn. Ive been awake for twenty-four hours, David, a roadside flag vender, told me cheerfully on Saturday, January 15th. We drove all over, looking for the best spot. The Save America rally in Florence, Arizona, hadnt officially begun, but hed already sold sixty Trump-themed flags, most for $39.95.
David, a first-generation American whose family moved to the Southwest from Mexico when he was a child, has been in the flag business since he was fifteen. Back then, he helped his stepfather sell banners to people who wanted to proclaim their allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys or to the state of New Mexico, among other things. Three years ago, with the market for flags booming, David went into business for himself. Although his stock includes gay-pride, Tupac Shakur, and Antifa flags, the Trump campaign, Presidency, and post-Presidency have been particularly good for business.
Solomon, like many other venders I spoke with, told me that last year was rough, compared with 2020. Trumps election loss, followed by the embarrassment of January 6th, put a damper on sales. Some merchants branched into Stop the Steal gear, but didnt find much success. It was hard to move, Solomon said.
Fact Check: Are Maga Hats Made In China
The claim: ‘Make America Great Again’ hats are made in China
Throughout his presidency, Trump has maintained a tough public stance on China, including the institution of significant tariffs on imports from the country, and his criticism has intensified following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which originated in Wuhan.
Dependence on China has become a hot-button topic for both parties and on social media. As the parties’ conventions began in August, claims that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats are made in China started recirculating on Facebook.
One post, by the Facebook page “Trump Sucks,” has a montage of four photos: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend and member of the Trump campaign, an text image that says, “Claims Democrats will send jobs back to China,” a photo of a MAGA hat is below Guilfoyle, and next to it is text that says, “Made in China.”
Administrators for the page could not be reached for comment.
Claims that MAGA hats are made in China began circulating when Trump called for a boycott of Goodyear after the tire company announced its zero-tolerance policy for the apparel.
Are MAGA hats made in China?
Questions about the Trump campaign’s symbolic red hats started and were debunked in 2015. The claims circulated again last year and have found new traction as the country heads toward Election Day.
In 2019, Kennedy told AP that the hats are made entirely in Carson, California.
Our rating: Partly false
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Official Trump Maga Hats Are Made In The Us
CLAIM: Trumps Make America Great Again caps are made in China, not the U.S.
APS ASSESSMENT: False. The hats are made by a manufacturer in California.
THE FACTS: A post circulating on Facebook with a picture of a red MAGA hat that bears a Made in China label falsely claims President Donald Trumps official caps are not made in the U.S. Such claims have circulated for years on social media and have re-surfaced in recent months as the president engages in a tariff war with China.
Brian Kennedy, president of Cali Fame of Los Angeles, a California-based company that makes the official hats, confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that the hats are produced entirely in Carson, Calif.
Some third-party retailers carry knock-off MAGA caps that are made in China and are labeled as such. Trumps official campaign store website states that All of our products are 100% proudly made in the USA.
However, another official Trump website, Trump Store, sells apparel and other merchandise with labels such as decorated in the U.S. The store also carries wine glasses by Riedel, a manufacturer based in Austria.
The Federal Trade Commission requires that items labeled Made in USA, be all or virtually all produced in the U.S.
This is part of The Associated Press ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.
The Claim: ‘make America Great Again’ Hats Are Made In China
Throughout his presidency, Trump has maintained a tough public stance on China, including the institution of significant tariffs on imports from the country, and his criticism has intensified following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which originated in Wuhan.
Dependence on China has become a hot-button topic for both parties and on social . As the parties’ conventions began in August, claims that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats are made in China started recirculating on Facebook.
One post, by the Facebook page “Trump Sucks,” has a montage of four photos: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend and member of the Trump campaign, an text image that says, “Claims Democrats will send jobs back to China,” a photo of a MAGA hat is below Guilfoyle, and next to it is text that says, “Made in China.”
Fact or fiction:
Administrators for the page could not be reached for comment.
Claims that MAGA hats are made in China began circulating when Trump called for a boycott of Goodyear after the tire company announced its zero-tolerance policy for the apparel.
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Are Maga Hats Made In China
Questions about the Trump campaign’s symbolic red hats started and were debunked in 2015. The claims circulated again last year and have found new traction as the country heads toward Election Day.
In 2016, a closer look at the hats by the Associated Press found that some did not contain the fabric that the manufacturer says is always used.
Brian Kennedy, president of Cali Fame of Los Angeles, the company that makes the official hats, did not explain the discrepancy but said “all or virtually all” of the materials are from the United States.
In 2019, Kennedy told AP that the hats are made entirely in Carson, California.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on the merchandise. But according to the official Trump merchandise website, the campaign’s products are “proudly made in the USA.”
While the “made in China” tags can be found on some Trump merchandise, those items are not official products of the campaign they’re from outside vendors.
A WCIV report of a Trump rally in Charleston, South Carolina, in March illustrated this distinction. Vendors at Trump rallies often sell merchandise, but most of these items are made outside the U.S. in countries like China, Honduras and Haiti.
The Log Cabin And Hard Cider Candidate
Biden is far from the first politician to find that criticism of a rival or an opposing group of voters can be flipped around into a rallying cry.
Trumps supporters famously lifted a term used by Hillary Clinton and proudly called themselves deplorables.
But before that, a prominent example came during the 1840 presidential campaign.
During that race, a critic of William Henry Harrison, the Whig candidate, poked fun at his age by suggesting that he would be happier collecting a pension from a log cabin while drinking hard cider than occupying the White House.
As Claire Jerry, a curator of political history at the Smithsonian, put it, Harrisons response was, essentially: OK, fine, Ill run with that.
Harrison, an aristocrat, embraced the salt-of-the-earth image, adopting the slogan Log Cabin and Hard Cider. It inspired campaign items like a china creamer and a cane.
The criticism of Harrison turned into one of the earliest clear campaign messages.
And as time went on, you get bandannas and you get eventually T-shirts, said Lisa Kathleen Graddy, a curator who works with Jerry. Variants of that have been in the campaign world for over a century.
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Whatever Happened To Trump Neckties Theyre Over So Is Most Of Trumps Merchandising Empire
Before he ran for office, Donald Trump made millions by selling his name to adorn other peoples products. There was Trump deodorant. Trump ties. Trump steaks. Trump underwear. Trump furniture. At one time, there was even a Trump-branded urine test.
Now, almost all of them are gone.
In 2015, Trump listed 19 companies that were paying him to produce or distribute Trump-branded consumer goods.
In recent weeks, only two said that they are still selling Trump-branded goods. One is a Panamanian company selling Trump bed linens and home goods. The other is a Turkish company selling Trump furniture.
Of the rest, some Trump partners quit in reaction to campaign-trail rhetoric on immigrants and Muslims. Others said their licensing agreements had expired. Others said nothing beyond confirming that theyd stopped working with Trump. Their last Trump goods are being sold off, often at a discount: One cologne is marked down to $9.99 from $42 for a one-ounce bottle.
Success by Trump, the website says. And, below that: Clearance.
The decline of the Trump merchandise empire is another sign of how politics has changed the presidents business. On one hand, it has allowed his Mar-a-Lago Club and his D.C. hotel to monetize his political alliances, raking in money from evangelical Christian groups and Republican campaigns.
All Trump had to do was sell something that he could never run out of.
His name.
The menswear executive wasnt interested.
In fact, it wasnt enough.
Are Trump 2020 Banners Made In China
Q: Are campaign banners for President Trumps reelection campaign being made in China?
A: News reports have documented Trump 2020 flags being produced in China, but its unclear who ordered those. The campaign says that all of our merchandise is 100% made in the USA.
FULL QUESTION
There are several posts on Facebook purportedly showing Chinese factory workers in China manufacturing banners for Trumps 2020 campaign. I dont want to repost unless this is true.
Any idea?
FULL ANSWER
Ever since President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign rooted itself in a theme of America First, critics have called attention to the businessmans own eponymous products that were being made outside the U.S. such as Trump shirts made in Bangladesh and sports coats made in India.
But are his 2020 reelection campaign banners, or flags, being made in China? Thats the question a dozen readers have asked us in recent weeks, in the midst of news coverage on the topic and subsequent criticism by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who cited one such report.
Sanders wrote in a : Given the choice between hiring American workers at a living wage or hiring much less expensive workers from China that he can exploit, Trump opts for the low-cost overseas labor day in and day out.
In early July, however, the owner of a flag-making factory in Chinas Zhejiang province told the NPR podcast The Indicator that he was filling an order for Trump reelection flags.
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Trump Is Selling New Merchandise Made In China And Bangladesh
The Trump Organization is at it again, making a buck off the presidents name and buying from overseas.
President Donald Trumps company started selling a new line of Trump-branded merchandise this month and some of the products are manufactured overseas, The Daily Beast found.
The Trump Organization launched Trumpstore.com and sells a $32 Trump Golf hat made in Bangladesh and a $25 faux gold bouillion TRUMP coin bank made in China. The Trump Organization is still owned by the president and is managed by his sons, Eric and Donald Jr. . It appears then that Trump is profiting off of foreign-made goods despite his promise to put America first when it comes to manufacturing.
The Trump Organization and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Even though hes taken some steps to separate himself from his business, we know that he can still receive reports about the Trump Organization and that he can directly profit from the sale of those goods, said Larry Noble of the Campaign Legal Center, an ethics watchdog group in Washington, D.C.
Trump was criticized during the presidential campaign for bashing Mexico and China for stealing U.S. jobs even though his ties were made in Mexico and he applied for trademarks in China.
Aside from hypocrisy, Trump has faced criticism for his foreign-business deals for another reason: the Constitutions emoluments clause.
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