‘T-shirt war’, a miniature version of the US presidential election… Looking at the sales trend, does it look like a winner? [글로벌리포트]

‘My Christmas wish is Mr. President (Donald Trump)’. On the 17th (local time), a picture of former US President Trump smiling while wearing a Santa Claus hat and a T-shirt with this phrase were posted on an American online shopping mall. It contains the wishes of supporters who hope for Trump’s victory in the US presidential election held on the 5th of next month.

Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris also did not remain silent. A T-shirt with an image of Harris wearing a Santa hat and a faint smile has this message: ‘First Christmas with Madame President (Harris)’.

With about 10 days left until the 2024 U.S. presidential election, competition among supporters to create ‘political T-shirts’ is heating up. The left T-shirt has an image of US Vice President Kamala Harris wearing a Santa Claus hat and the words ‘First Christmas with Madame President’, while the right T-shirt has an image of former US President Donald Trump wearing a Santa hat and the words ‘My Christmas wish is Mr. President’. The text is included. Photo Etsy homepage capture

Ahead of the US presidential election, which is only 16 days away, the ‘political t-shirt war’ is heating up. JoongAng Ilbo investigated Etsy, the online shopping mall where handmade products are traded the most in the U.S., and found that more than 1,000 T-shirts themed on candidates from both Democratic and Republican parties were being sold each.

The messages on these political T-shirts were nothing short of a ‘miniature version of the presidential election.’ Most of them were produced by supporters or sellers, and mainly contained support for the candidate they supported or criticism aimed at the opposing candidate. The major issues of the presidential election and the wishes of supporters were reflected at every moment. It is worth saying, “When you look at political T-shirts, you see the US presidential election.” Foreign media outlets also reported, “Political T-shirts are being produced and sold faster and in more variety than during any previous election” (The Washington Post).

Trump supporters are wearing T-shirts showing their support for Trump. AP = Yonhap News

A Harris supporter wearing a Harris support T-shirt that reads ‘Kamala Harris for the people.’ AP = Yonhap News

Depictions of ‘heroes’, differences in perspectives on the same issue

The extremely close relationship between candidates from both parties appears to reflect the presidential election situation, which is full of twists and turns, including candidate changes and assassination attempts. In addition, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has made image creation easier and faster, lowering the threshold for producing T-shirts and reducing production time compared to the past.

Unlike the official t-shirts sold by each camp, these t-shirts were free in content and varied in type. First of all, there were many shirts depicting the candidates they supported as ‘heroes.’ As a t-shirt appeared with an image of Trump dressed as the Marvel hero character ‘Captain America’, a t-shirt appeared showing Harris, who had transformed into Captain America, confronting Trump in a prison uniform.

In the T-shirt, Trump appeared as Superman and Cowboy, while Harris was depicted as Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel. The scene in which Trump, who was shot last July, raised his fist with bleeding ears and shouted ‘fight!’, is still being produced in various versions.

From left, T-shirts depicting Harris as Captain Marvel and Trump as Captain America. Photo Etsy homepage capture

A T-shirt that highlights ‘Prosecutor Harris’ transformed into Captain America versus ‘Criminal Trump’ in a prison uniform. Photo Etsy homepage capture

To his supporters, Trump was depicted as Superman in his T-shirt. Photo Etsy homepage capture

A T-shirt depicting Harris as Wonder Woman. Photo Etsy homepage capture

The differences in views between camps on the same issue were also reflected in the T-shirts. Last August, when Trump was indicted on charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, supporters used his mug shot to create T-shirts with the message “Never give in.” On the other hand, Harris’s supporters countered by creating T-shirts highlighting the confrontation between ‘Prosecutor Harris’ and ‘Criminal Trump’.

During a TV debate last September, Trump’s statement that “immigrants eat dogs and cats” sparked controversy over lies, but supporters portrayed Trump as a hero rescuing dogs and cats from fire on T-shirts. Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Senator JD Vance’s remark targeting Harris, ‘childless cat lady’, is being used in reverse on T-shirts supporting Harris. Some examples include encouraging voting with a picture of Harris riding on a cat, or adding the phrase ‘Unite’ to a picture of women holding a cat.

Comments that became hot topics, such as “I’m telling you” (Trump during a TV debate last September) and “No one suddenly falls from a coconut tree” (Harris during a speech in May last year) also frequently appeared on T-shirts. T-shirt prices vary widely, ranging from 1 to 80 dollars (approximately 1,300 to 108,000 won) each.

A t-shirt printed with a picture of a cat and the phrase “Nobody suddenly falls from a coconut tree,” which became a hot topic after Harris said it. Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance made a remark targeting Harris, calling her a ‘childless cat lady’, and it appears that he used this to emphasize Harris’s friendly image. Photo Etsy homepage capture

A T-shirt depicting a scene in which Trump says ‘I’m talking to you’ to Harris during a TV debate last September. Photo Etsy homepage capture

A T-shirt depicting Trump as a hero rescuing dogs and cats from a fire. Photo Etsy homepage capture

Looking at sales trends, you can read the election situation

The sales trend of political t-shirts is a clue to the election situation and supporter trends. Citing dealers, WP reported that demand for T-shirts has surged among Democratic supporters after the Democratic candidate was replaced by President Joe Biden with Harris. Even though he is a vice presidential candidate, it is unusual for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s T-shirts to be sold at almost the same level as Harris’s. T-shirts mocking Vance are also popular among Harris supporters.

A T-shirt featuring Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz along with Harris. Photo Etsy homepage capture

Additionally, Harris T-shirts often appear with other people such as Walz and Biden, while Trump T-shirts often feature Trump as the ‘sole star’. T-shirts containing criticism targeting the Harris camp are said to be popular among Trump supporters. The specific sales volume of Harris and Trump T-shirts is not known, but one seller told WP, ​​”(I feel) their popularity is similar.”

A T-shirt printed with various images of Trump dancing on the speech stage. Photo Etsy homepage capture

Experts say that political T-shirts have a significant promotional effect. Heather Aku, a professor of fashion design at Indiana University, explained, “A sign supporting a candidate posted in the front yard is only seen by neighbors, but a T-shirt that can be worn anywhere creates a friendly and strong impression on the majority of people.”

The connection between T-shirt popularity and election results is

For this reason, the Trump and Harris camps are also selling dozens of types of official T-shirts with the candidates’ names on them. These T-shirts, along with other goods such as hats and socks, also play a role in collecting political donations.

However, unofficial T-shirts produced by supporters or sellers have copyright issues such as image theft. In addition, last month, the Trump camp was embroiled in controversy over imitation of a T-shirt with a design similar to that of pop star Taylor Swift’s concert commemorative T-shirt, which publicly supported Harris.

A t-shirt (left) sold by the Trump campaign, which was embroiled in a design imitation controversy, and a commemorative t-shirt from Swift’s concert. Photo X·Taylor Swift Official Store Capture

According to the National Museum of American History, the first political t-shirt to appear in the United States was the campaign t-shirt of Thomas E. Dewey (Republican Party), who lost to Harry S. Truman (Democratic Party) in the 1948 presidential election. In the 1960s, with the civil rights movement in the United States and anti-war protests against the Vietnam War, T-shirts began to be used in earnest as a tool to express political views.

From the left, official T-shirts sold by the Harris and Trump campaigns, respectively. Photo Trump, Harris Official Store Capture

Of course, political t-shirt sales are not necessarily directly related to election results. During the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, the popularity of Trump T-shirts surpassed those of Hillary Clinton and Biden, respectively. However, while Trump won the 2016 presidential election, he struggled in 2020. The world’s eyes and ears are focused on the US presidential election to see who will be the last person to laugh on the 5th.

Reporter Lim Seon-young [email protected]