# Pro-Trump T-shirts at Resorts **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 26, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827 "2025-05-26T20:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/1 "2025-05-26T20:05:29Z")
I made my regular Memorial Day trip to a beach resort – in this case, Hampton Beach in New Hampshire – to see what the latest summer stuff was. Usually there are new things at the beach, new video games and high-tech pinball games at the arcades, and new T-shirts at the many, many T-shirt emporiums. I was disappointed to see almost nothing new this year. However, I did have to ask about something else I’ve noticed for the past several years – the Pro-Trump T-shirts. THere are a LOT of them. And virtually nothing from the other side. IT’s not as if I really expect a pro-Biden or pro-Kamala Harris shirts. But I DO kind of expect anti-Trump shirts. I saw that kind of thing when Trump first emerged as a candidate – shirts that showed Trump with Joker makeup and the like. But since then, through his first term, through Biden’s, and now into his second term I see nothing but pro-trump shirts. And not just at Hampton Beach, but at other beaches I’ve been to on the East Coast and at resorts on lakes – at Weirs beach on Lake Winnepesaukee and at Lake George in New York. > **[Amazon.com: You Missed Shot Republican Pro Trump, President 2024 T-Shirt :...](https://www.amazon.com/Missed-Republican-Trump-President-T-Shirt/dp/B0D9HT6B1X)** > > Show your political pride with this stylish and comfortable T-Shirt, featuring a bold, cartoon-inspired design that's sure to spark conversations. Crafted from 100% cotton, this lightweight, classic fit shirt offers a modern classic style with a... > **[Winner Trump Vance We Won The Outlaw And The Hillbilly Took America Back...](https://teleteeshirt.com/product/winner-trump-vance-we-won-the-outlaw-and-the-hillbilly-took-america-back-keepsake-2024-t-shirts/)** > > Winner Trump Vance We Won The Outlaw And The Hillbilly Took America Back Keepsake 2024 T-shirts: A Patriotic Symbol of Victory Winner Trump Vance We Won The Outlaw And The Hillbilly Took America Back Keepsake 2024 T-shirts, hoodie, tank top, sweater,... It’s not as if anti-Trump T-shirts don’t exist: [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1264236105/trump-sandwich-shirt-anti-trump-shirt?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_campaign=shopping\_us\_ps-c-clothing&utm\_custom1=\_k\_Cj0KCQjwotDBBhCQARIsAG5pinPnT48uTG33Hqf6qj\_bZUzey6ypOv1gWokAD3FlINVYaCyRrK0LF0MaAlxvEALw\_wcB\_k\_&utm\_content=go\_21500568213\_167985817399\_716809480246\_pla-360912201277\_c\_\_1264236105\_124881373&utm\_custom2=21500568213&gad\_source=1&gad\_campaignid=21500568213&gbraid=0AAAAADtcfRJ34rKDkxDFMTL1OPKA3OArf&gclid=Cj0KCQjwotDBBhCQARIsAG5pinPnT48uTG33Hqf6qj\_bZUzey6ypOv1gWokAD3FlINVYaCyRrK0LF0MaAlxvEALw\_wcB](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1264236105/trump-sandwich-shirt-anti-trump-shirt?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_ps-c-clothing&utm_custom1=_k_Cj0KCQjwotDBBhCQARIsAG5pinPnT48uTG33Hqf6qj_bZUzey6ypOv1gWokAD3FlINVYaCyRrK0LF0MaAlxvEALw_wcB_k_&utm_content=go_21500568213_167985817399_716809480246_pla-360912201277_c__1264236105_124881373&utm_custom2=21500568213&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21500568213&gbraid=0AAAAADtcfRJ34rKDkxDFMTL1OPKA3OArf&gclid=Cj0KCQjwotDBBhCQARIsAG5pinPnT48uTG33Hqf6qj_bZUzey6ypOv1gWokAD3FlINVYaCyRrK0LF0MaAlxvEALw_wcB) [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1797281679/know-your-parasites-shirt-anti-trump?ls=a&external=1&rec\_type=ad&ref=pla\_similar\_listing\_top-3&pro=1&plkey=d54238e4e5b2dd06e62ca85ba2c2585e08c62148%3A1797281679](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1797281679/know-your-parasites-shirt-anti-trump?ls=a&external=1&rec_type=ad&ref=pla_similar_listing_top-3&pro=1&plkey=d54238e4e5b2dd06e62ca85ba2c2585e08c62148%3A1797281679) > **[Pro-America Anti-Trump Longsleeve Tee | LookHUMAN](https://lookhuman.com/products/342248-pro-america-anti-trump-longsleeve-tee)** > > Our long-sleeve t-shirts are made from preshrunk 100% cotton and a heathered tri-blend fabric. Original art on men’s, women’s and kid’s tees. All shirts printed in the USA. Show off your patriotism with this Fourth of July inspired, Independence Day,... So why is this? Do only pro-Trump people go to the resorts? Or are they the only ones buying T-shirts? Does being at a resort inspire a rebel attitude that makes this stuff popular? Or is there some other reason? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/2 "2025-05-26T20:21:44Z")
Perhaps they aren’t selling them because nobody would buy anti-Trump t-shirts since they might be afraid to walk around in public wearing one. I wouldn’t want to be the target of some MAGA nutcase, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/3 "2025-05-26T20:21:50Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Or are they the only ones buying T-shirts? It is this. There is a market for pro-Trump merchandise. There is not a market for anti-Trump merchandise. And many folks would be (rightly) scared to wear an anti-Trump shirt in public even if they agreed with sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/4 "2025-05-26T20:37:01Z")
Not so many opposite numbers to the pro-Trumpers who rock the t-shirt over the fat gut, baggy shorts and flip flops so they can look tough in line at the Circle K. It’s more of an online presence, seen on TikTok in the current trend of vids where they plead **“Somebody - just do it.”** and then may or may not add an innocuous activity at the end for plausible deniability. But the implication is clear. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/5 "2025-05-26T20:46:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So why is this? Do only pro-Trump people go to the resorts? Or are they the only ones buying T-shirts? Does being at a resort inspire a rebel attitude that makes this stuff popular? > > Or is there some other reason? The short version is MAGA is a cult of personality and MAGATs are venerating their object of worship. An interesting phenomenon with the cult of personality surrounding Trump is how membership has become a core part of how people identify themselves. They don’t just vote Republican, they’re not even just MAGA, they’re “Ultra-MAGA!” And it’s not enough for them to be Ultra-MAGA, they’ve got to signal to everyone around them that they’re Ulta-MAGA. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/6 "2025-05-26T20:48:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Or is there some other reason? The United States has been primed for fascism for the last four decades (or longer if you want to stretch back to Goldwater, and of course the Jim Crow era in the South), and now people are nakedly expressing support for a fascist-adjacent leader who happily proclaims his desire to be dictator (“Just on Day One,” because autocrats always give up their power once they’ve achieved petty goals) and feeling like they are part of some big scheme to return to a mythical era of greatness that never existed. [This is America.](https://youtu.be/9_LIP7qguYw?si=llVqG6VgSk1McaBM) Land of the formerly free, home of the self-professed ‘brave’ as long as it is in being part of a mob of bigots and thugs. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/7 "2025-05-26T20:56:23Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > There is a market for pro-Trump merchandise. There is not a market for anti-Trump merchandise. There’s demonstrably a market for anti-Trump merchandise. I’ve posted examples of T-shirts, but there are as many anti-Trump items (posters, mugs, signs, toilet paper, etc.) as the pro-Trumpers have. But they’re not selling any of it at the resorts. I see it online and at convention sales booths. You could “of course it’ll be sold at groups where pro-Leftists congregate”, but that makes you ask – “so are resorts pro-rightist?” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/8 "2025-05-26T21:02:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I see it online and at convention sales booths. You could “of course it’ll be sold at groups where pro-Leftists congregate”, but that makes you ask – “so are resorts pro-rightist?” You tell us - what are the demographics of Hampton Beach vacationers? In terms of age, race, income, education, etc. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/9 "2025-05-26T21:15:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You tell us - what are the demographics of Hampton Beach vacationers? In terms of age, race, income, education, etc. It’s not just Hampton Beach – as the OP makes clear, I see this at all the resort places I go to. They can’t **all** be primarily pro-Trumpers. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/10 "2025-05-26T21:43:09Z")
We were in Pigeon Forge last month and I saw at least 3 Trump Stores. Not just stores selling Trump stuff, but dedicated Trump stores. It sickens me… ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/11 "2025-05-26T21:46:51Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Perhaps they aren’t selling them because nobody would buy anti-Trump t-shirts since they might be afraid to walk around in public wearing one. I wouldn’t want to be the target of some MAGA nutcase, would you? If it’s a place where a lot of MAGAs would buy and wear Trump shirts the vendors might also be afraid of having their shops vandalized by the MAGA nutcases if they displayed anti-Trump merch. Much safer to sell online. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/12 "2025-05-26T21:51:29Z")
If you were had enough money to go to resorts in Germany in the late 30’s/early 40’s, do you think pro-Jewish apparel would be worn (or even sold) in many places? Pro-Trumpers can be very aggressive, and this open aggression is openly supported by a large part of society and even, at times, the government itself. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/13 "2025-05-26T21:59:43Z")
I honestly wouldn’t expect a lot of pro-Jewish apparel back then. But I would expect some anti-Hitler merchandise, at least at first. Hitler’s brownshirts were definitely a thing. But MAGAts can’t be compared to them. At least not yet. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/14 "2025-05-26T22:02:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Trump Vance We Won The Outlaw And The Hillbilly Took America Back I guess they figured “outlaw” had a better ring to it than “convicted felon”. (And similarly, “hillbilly” sounds more of-the-people than “metropolitan Cincinnati native, Yale Law School graduate, and [failed agricultural startup director](https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/jd-vance-appharvest-rural-credibility/)”.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/15 "2025-05-26T22:03:29Z")
Except that I haven’t heard of much anti-Hitler merchandise sold in Germany in the time period I mentioned, so haw bad does it actually have to get before you start comparing them to MAGAs? Give me an actual tipping point. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/16 "2025-05-26T22:05:37Z")
Grow a beard and you can convince them you’re a hick. It worked for _Duck Dynasty_. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/17 "2025-05-26T22:14:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You tell us - what are the demographics of Hampton Beach vacationers? In terms of age, race, income, education, etc. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not just Hampton Beach – as the OP makes clear, I see this at all the resort places I go to. They can’t **all** be primarily pro-Trumpers. If the demographics at these resorts skew white, and age 40+, they probably do skew towards MAGA supporters, because, frankly, those demographics have traditionally skewed conservative, anyway, even before Trump. Yes, _some_ 40+, 50+, 60+ people, including many of us on this board, are very liberal. But, looking broadly at demographics, we’re in the minority; as a general rule of thumb, older cohorts are more politically conservative than younger ones. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > There’s demonstrably a market for anti-Trump merchandise. I’ve posted examples of T-shirts, but there are as many anti-Trump items (posters, mugs, signs, toilet paper, etc.) as the pro-Trumpers have. But they’re not selling any of it at the resorts. What we don’t know is how well the anti-Trump merchandise sells, compared to the pro-Trump stuff. As @Odesio notes, for a lot of MAGA folks, being Trumpy is highly analogous to being a rabid fan of a sports team, which means having (and proudly wearing) all the merch; there’s probably an aspect of “triggering the libs” by openly wearing the stuff for some of them, as well. I’m not at all certain that among anti-Trump people, there’s broadly that same level of rabid desire to self-identify to the world. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/18 "2025-05-26T22:16:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Except that I haven’t heard of much anti-Hitler merchandise sold in Germany in the time period I mentioned “Sold”, hmmm. I don’t think of political sloganeering (on any side) in 1930’s Germany as in any significant way a commercial enterprise sustained by individual consumerism: ISTM that partisan paraphernalia was overwhelmingly distributed by the parties rather than marketed for profit. But that may well be just my ignorance. In any case, there were definitely anti-Nazi badges and flags and whatnot in wide circulation then, with symbols like [the anti-fascist “Three Arrows” of the Social Democratic Party.](https://rokantyfaszystowski.org/en/trzy-strzaly/) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/19 "2025-05-26T22:21:22Z")
During a trip to the US a couple of years ago (Jul-2023) I stopped in Custer, SD for a couple of days. The apparel souvenir shops were stocked to the gunnels with an extensive range of fire-breathing MAGA merchandise hats, t-shirts, sloppy joes. Was chatting with the owner, who after ascertaining I was Australian, confided that she voted Libertarian and thought that the majority of apparel was actually bought by Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827/20 "2025-05-26T22:21:38Z")
Let’s see. I specified the late 30’s to the early 40’s, and your example was from 1931. How often did anti-Hitler merchandise pop up during the time period I mentioned? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-trump-t-shirts-at-resorts/1018827.md?page=2)