Politics As Cash Register
Pimp my campaign.
The early 1960's. What a time of hope and for an 11 or 12-year-old me, the fabulous exploits of our new President in World War II. I remember when President Kennedy was offering those autographed PT-109 models. How excited I was when mine arrived...
And then I added to my presidential souvenir collection with those autographed Jerry Ford footballs, Jimmy Carter peanut cans, Reagan autographed cowboy hats and...
OK, no. None of that happened, because none of that cheesy kitsch was offered. But now, for a mere $100K, you can get in touch with your inner pimp.
And then there is the pitch...
And this...
And the list goes on. Trading cards, NFT's that give Trump the physique of Arnold in his prime, bobbleheads and Bibles, oh my! In fact, you can visit the Trump Store here...https://www.trumpstore.com/
Aside from the fact that a former President and possibly, future one is hawking overpriced dreck like a one-man shopping network, it's lousy stuff in the bargain. It's as though the GOP nominated Ron Popeil for President...
And according to Stormy, we'll never have to ask, "Is that a pocket fisherman or are you just glad to see me?"
Now, among the things I have always found interesting are watches. Ever since learning from my first James Bond novel that Rolex was his choice, I have loved watches. Mechanical watches have pretty much been the province of the Swiss since the 70's and 80's when the rest of the world went to quartz.
But now the Chinese have entered the fray and are making very good movements like the Seagull and others. And the movements themselves are comparatively cheap to put in your gaudy knock-off watch. This "Rolex" for example?
It looks frankly perfect and if you bought a Submariner from Rolex, it would run you a cool $12,000. This one though, only $189.00. The movement is Chinese, and probably pretty good. And you have the dubious honor of faking out your friends, except for the ones who know there is no way in hell you bought a $12 grand watch.
If you want a couple of pounds of gold watch ostentatiously hanging on your wrist, get the Rolex President Day-Date with diamond hour markers in solid 18K gold. It will run you less than half the price of the Trump watch, but unlike the Trump model, might actually get you mugged.
The watches come from a company called TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, which is licensing Trump's name for the watches and lists its address as a suite located in a building in Sheridan, Wyoming, the same address as the company selling Trump's $499 sneakers. The suite is near a Wendy's fast-food location and Sherwin-Williams. Sheridan is a small town in north Wyoming near the Montana border. Just to explain, that is not Switzerland, though it's just as cold.
“This is cobbled together, patently unoriginal and vastly overpriced,” says Ariel Adams, founder and editor of A Blog to Watch, one of the industry’s most popular sites for timepiece information and education. “It’s very clear he’s working with a white labeler, which is nothing new. Anyone can go to a white labeler and say, ‘I want a watch with this case, this bracelet and these other details,’ and a white labeler will Frankenstein it together, put your name on it and sell it to you. But the price you sell it for is up to you. That the markup came from someone on Trump’s team is obvious here."
So, given the economics involved, not to mention quality of the product, why would anyone go for this gaudy bling with the Magic Marker signature on the back? My theory: it's money laundering. If you go to the Watch website, it states clearly that this is not involved with the political campaign and not designed or manufactured by Trump. Therefore the profits don't have to be reported to the FEC and can be pocketed by Trump, like the sneakers.
A virtual Temu campaign.
The website says only 147 of the $100K watches will be produced, along with more $500 fake dive watches. From the pricey gold ones alone, that is a cool $1.4 million. So again, who buys this? Someone who wants influence with Donald Trump, that's who. A lobbyist, a foreign oligarch, a foreign leader? It doesn't matter. It's like visitors who stayed at the Trump Hotel while on business in Washington. It was a side gig ostensibly run by his sons Uday and Qusay.
Now, look, whether it's those hideous ball caps or these even more hideous watches, I have nothing against good old American enterprise. But like Jared's deal with the Saudis, Trump's fealty toward the Russians after proposing the Trump Tower Moscow, you have to wonder where enterprise stops and influence peddling begins.
And before some commenter utters the magic word "Hunter" I refer you to my earlier piece outlining the so-called "Biden scandal," which was no such thing. Well, except for Hunter himself, who is a walking toxic waste dump. In fact with the Ukraine deal, Joe Biden actually, at the behest of the Obama Administration, took actions that would hurt the kid. If interested, check it out...
Roger T. Gray
To be clear, it was Hunter doing the hookers and blow, you know, just in case anyone was wondering.
Roger T. Gray
But, this is where we are. Now, look, I don't know if Kamala Harris would be a good President, and as I have written, some of her proposals have no chance of getting through what will no doubt be a difficult Congress.
And critics have a point about this administration being very late off the mark when it comes to the border. To be fair though, the recently released statistics on criminals that have crossed the border being touted by Republicans, cover 40 years worth of border crossings, not 3.
But the tenor and tone of this campaign, and now the blatant profiteering are honestly demeaning.
We all deserve better than this.