Politics and Price Tags

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Entrepreneurs jump on the campaign bandwagon to sell presidential goodies

By Juana Lopez, Alexandra Meeks, Charlé Moore, Priyadarshini Sen and Pasha Zolfaghari

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From breaking nuts with Hillary Clinton nutcrackers to baking cookies in the shape of presidential hopefuls, Democratic and Republican voters are finding new ways to support – or poke fun at - the 2016 presidential candidates. Voters have been “Bern-ing” off energy with Trump and Clinton piñatas or sipping on “elephant” (Republican) and “donkey" (Democrat) wines.

Campaign merchandise used to be traditional and simple, often patriotic gear. But now the products are taboo-breaking or unusual.

“Political merchandise has actually become memorabilia. These have become real collectibles, whether we are talking about pins or certainly with the Donald Trump’s hats,” said Pete Peterson, dean and senior public policy fellow at Pepperdine University. “Merchandise is something not just for presidential candidates or their campaign to think about or promote, but really are collector’s items that people are hoping will gain in value.”

Peterson says vendors are exploiting this year’s election partisanship to increase profits. “When the merchandise crosses over from something that is meant to promote the campaign, whether it be a hat or pin, to something that is more of a statement on the person - like the Hillary Clinton nutcracker for example - I think it’s a sign of polarization and probably has gone too far,” said Dean Peterson.

But USC public policy professor Erroll Southers says it’s fair game in a heated election season and there is no such thing as bad publicity when it comes to such controversial merchandise.

"I don’t think you can lose when you have a product that has your brand on it," Southers said.

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When the merchandise crosses over from something that is meant to promote the campaign, whether it be a hat or pin, to something that is more of a statement on the person - like the Hillary Clinton nutcracker for example - I think it’s a sign of polarization and probably has gone too far

— Pete Peterson, Dean and Senior Public Policy Fellow at Pepperdine University

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Southers cited Civil Rights era protests and divisions over the Vietnam War as the last time he can recall such political animosity.

“This is probably the most polarized campaign, certainly in my lifetime, going back to the 60s,” said Southers. “I remember what my parents went through. I never thought we would see it again, and now it seems to not just reappear but it seems worse.”

As the political divide intensifies in advance of November’s vote, merchants from inside and outside the country are pushing history-making memorabilia to go with it.

Campaign novelties

Current election season merchandise goes beyond buttons and hats. Click on the photos below to learn how vendors at home and abroad are cashing in.

Gone too far?

Hot-selling items in the 2016 election campaign push the line between political provocation and vulgarity.

Partisan ill-will: An American tradition

The 2016 election campaign has been called one of the most polarized in recent history, fueling sales of political novelties and merchandise. Below, you can see other key eras which exposed deep rifts among the American electorate and compare it to today’s political atmosphere.