Will the picture of a bloody Donald Trump raising his fist after almost being killed become the symbol of his campaign to stay in office?
That’s the question some people are asking after seeing this picture on the front page of every newspaper on Sunday and as T-shirts with the picture are already being sold online, just like they were with the former president’s mug shot. Trump was hurt when someone opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. One person was killed and two others were seriously hurt.
Some people also think that Trump’s campaign for president might use a picture from the event as part of its messaging in the tough race against President Joe Biden, who is the current president and the likely Republican nominee.
‘That picture is going to be one for the century.’
Political marketing expert Craig Agranoff
A political marketing expert with many years of experience said, “That picture is going to be one for the century.”
Agranoff also said that he is not surprised that the merchandise is being sold so quickly: “This picture is very strong.”
The picture that is getting the most attention is one that was taken by Evan Vucci for the Associated Press. There are, however, other pictures going around that are being used on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other things.
There are more than 100 T-shirts with a picture from the shooting for sale on Etsy ETSY, +3.76% alone. Many times, there is a message with the picture, like “Fight” or “Never give up.”
Trump himself said on his social media site on Sunday about the event, “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined and not letting Evil Win.”
‘This is one powerful image.’
Political marketing expert Craig Agranoff
Merchants moved quickly to get T-shirts online with the already famous picture of Trump on them. The South China Morning Post said that Chinese sellers, many of whom are from the U.S., had the shirts ready just a few hours before the event.
If you saw the news about the shooting, we put the T-shirts online right away, even though we hadn’t printed them yet. Within three hours, we had more than 2,000 orders from China and the U.S., Li Jinwei, a Chinese seller, told the South China Morning Post.
Agranoff said he thinks the Trump campaign will definitely think about making merchandise out of the shooting, similar to what they did with the mugshot of him that came out after he was booked into Georgia’s Fulton County Jail in August 2023 on charges of election interference.
Agranoff said that the campaign will have to be careful and sensitive in what it says because of the shooting, which killed one person and hurt others. He thinks that the Trump campaign will still use a picture from the event, though.
Asanoff said, “If they use it, it will work out well for them.”
Of course, you need to be aware of copyright issues when you use a picture.
A Florida lawyer named Michelle Suskauer, who used to be president of the Florida Bar Association, said that this might be different from the case of the mug shot, which was an image that was pretty much public record.
Regarding the pictures from the shooting at the Trump rally, Suskauer said that they belong to the photographer and/or the photo agency that is in charge of distributing them. Because of this, businesses or the Trump campaign would have to ask permission to use the picture and probably have to pay for it.
That doesn’t mean that all merchants are doing things the right way. However, Suskauer said that the law is clear about this picture.
She said, “It would be against the copyright to use and make money off of it” without permission.
The Associated Press, Etsy, a few Etsy sellers, and the Trump campaign were all asked to comment by BourseWatch, but they didn’t respond right away.
