Trump’s MAGADonald’s t-shirt is peak 2024 political branding

Former President Donald Trump is capitalizing off his visit to a Pennsylvania McDonald’s where he worked briefly as a fry cook by selling a $35 “MAGADonald’s” T-shirt. The shirt features a photo of the former president waving from the drive-thru with the words “MAGADonald’s” below it (please not the swoop of Trumpian hair across the “D”).

In recent months, the Trump campaign has churned out merch at the speed of the internet. There was the Trump mugshot merch, and the Eras-style shirt that came after Taylor Swift endorsed current Vice President Kamala Harris. In July, Trump released some almost-too-quick reaction merch based on photographs taken during the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania. Then just last week, the Trump campaign released the seemingly ironic the Little Red MAGA Hat.

We have to admit, the Trump campaign knows merchandising opportunity when it sees one.

McDonald’s drama

McDonald’s said in internal communications obtained by the Associated Press that it approved Trump’s visit because “we open our doors to everyone,” but the company added, “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office.”

Harris has said she worked at McDonald’s in college—a claim Trump has refuted without evidence. As a former reality TV producer, Trump is keenly well aware of the power of images, and at every turn, his campaign has promoted and profited off merchandise themed around election-defining images.

While these images have fired up his base, shots of him serving up french fries offers a much different image of Trump than a photo that serves as a reminder that he could be the first convicted elected president. As he courts swing and undecided voters in the closing weeks of the election, Trump is seeking to soften his image and what’s more effective than serving up an American pasttime?