The Hillary Clinton Nutcracker: Cruel or Clever?
Gibson Carothers, currently based out of Houston, Texas, has been creating and selling political memorabilia for over a decade. Items have included a T-shirt for former pro-wrestler Jesse Ventura’s 1998 gubernatorial victory in Minnesota which said, “My Governor can beat up your Governor,” and gag greeting cards featuring presidents such as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Since 2007, Carothers has been selling a Hillary Clinton nutcracker that he designed himself. The first model featured Clinton in a blue suit with folded arms and the words “cracks toughest nuts,” on the box. The 2016 model features Clinton in a pink suit, hands at her side in what could be considered a superhero pose with the words, “No more nuts in the White House,” on the box.
Some have argued that the Hillary Clinton nutcracker is sexist, but Carothers sees it differently. “Look,” he said, "you think that this is a beauty contest? The first woman elected [for president] is going to be tough. She’s going to be hard as nails.”
He believes the nutcracker expresses that Clinton has gained a reputation for being tough in over 30 years of public service and will need to continue being tough in a male dominated government if she wishes to become the first female president of the United States. Either way, it proved to be a profitable sales item for Carothers, a UC Berkeley grad who has sold over 250,000 nutcrackers.
After morning and late night shows featured the product repeatedly throughout Clinton’s 2008 campaign, he sold 200,000 units in that period alone. There was just a short window to sell Clinton memorabilia in 2008 before she suspended her campaign. But Carothers was able to capitalize on the shock factor of the new product.
This time, even after creating a new design for the 2016 election, he has seen sales dip. “I think the main reason for the drop-off is simply that last time [in 2008], the media was infatuated with it,” Carothers said. He adds that many articles written about the product condemned it for being sexist, which has hurt sales recently.
But Carothers believes that a larger portion of the product’s sales than in the 2008 election are coming from people who support Clinton. “The first time around [2008], I would say about two-thirds of the people who bought it didn’t like her. This time around, my guess would be its about right down the middle: 50-50,” he said.
Gibson insists that he takes no sides and just wants to sell unique products. “I was never interested in making a political statement,” he said. “I’m only interested in doing things that I think are clever.” He finds the product witty and says thousands of people who have purchased the product as a gag gift think so too. Carothers claimed that even Clinton has been seen laughing with and signing the product during campaign events.
Like many other political memorabilia salespeople, Carothers has bolstered his income by selling these products. He also boasts having “seeped into the whole political scene” when HBO talk show host Bill Maher worked into one of his bits that Clinton’s secret service name was “nutcracker.” That may be the extent of his influence on the political process, but Carothers is part of what appears to be a growing group of online entrepreneurs who are finding success with political merchandise.