Here’s how bad inflation is hitting campaign merch
The MAGA hat has gotten more expensive
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at:
Here’s how bad inflation is hitting campaign merch
A museum postponed then canceled an entire art show over this Shepard Fairey piece
Belief in American exceptionalism is falling
Scroll to the end to see: Former British Prime Minister Teresa May’s official portrait
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Here’s how bad inflation is hitting campaign merch
It’s not just the cost of food, cars, and homes that’s risen with inflation, the MAGA hat has gotten more expensive too.
Consumers will have to shell out more for campaign merchandise this year than they did in 2020, with the cost of an official “Make America Great Again” hat rising 33% in three years and other items seeing similar price hikes.
Here’s how prices compare in online campaign shops for former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden across seven item categories in Sept. 2020 versus Sept. 2023:
Trump campaign merch prices in 2020 vs. 2023:
Red MAGA hat: was $30, is now $40 (⬆️ 33%)
Trump bumper sticker: was $5 for a set of two, is now $12 for a set of two (⬆️ 140%)
Trump flag: was $30, is now $43 (⬆️ 43%)
Trump yard sign: was $20 for a set of two, is now $35 for one (⬆️ 250%)
Trump campaign logo tee: was $30, is now $36 (⬆️ 20%)
Trump mug: was $30 for a Trump-Pence logo mug, is now $25 for a “Never Surrender” mugshot mug (⬇️ 16%)
Trump button: was $5 for a set of two Trump-Pence logo buttons, is now $12 for a set of two Team Trump buttons (⬆️ 140%)
Biden campaign merch prices in 2020 vs. 2023:
Biden campaign hat: was $30 for a Biden-Harris logo hat, is now $32 for a Dark Brandon hat (⬆️ 6%)
Biden bumper sticker: was $7.50 for a set of two, is now $6 for a set of two (⬇️ 20%)
Biden flag: was $60, is now $100 (⬆️ 66%)
Biden yard sign: was $25, is now $20 (⬇️ 20%)
Biden-Harris logo tee: was $30, is now $32 (⬆️ 6%)
Biden mug: was $15, is now $22 (⬆️ 46%)
Biden button: was $6 for a set of two, is now $8 for a set of two (⬆️ 33%)
Overall, these items from Trump’s campaign shop are less expensive than Biden’s, but Trump’s prices have risen faster. To buy all seven Trump items would have cost $150 in 2020 compared with $203 today, a 35% increase, while these same seven Biden items cost $173.50 in 2020 compared with $220 today, a 27% increase.
Items from both shops are made in the U.S., with Biden’s site adding their merchandise is also “proudly union printed.”
A museum postponed then canceled an entire art show over this Shepard Fairey piece
A conservative Arizona city’s art museum postponed then canceled a street art exhibition scheduled to open Friday over an artwork about police brutality by Shepard Fairey.
The Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum announced last month it was postponing plans to show works from street artists Swoon, Douglas Miles, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, and Fairey, who was bringing his traveling, career-spanning greatest hits exhibition “Facing the Giant: Three Decades of Dissent” to the Grand Canyon State.
A city spokesperson said in a statement to the Arizona Republic the decision to postpone the show at the city-owned Mesa Arts Center was due to concerns one of the works could be disparaging toward city employees. It turns out that work was Fairey’s 2015 “My Florist is a Dick,” according to Phoenix station KTVK, a piece Fairey made after Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., and those city employees were Mesa’s more than 1,300 sworn and civilian officers.
The move to postpone then cancel the show was criticized by the ACLU and PEN America, whose director said, “the right to freely critique and satirize government is not only a cornerstone of the First Amendment but a grounding principle for democratically-aligned art movements.”
Arizona artists have also come out against the decision, including Susi Lerma, who told KTVK, “I don’t believe in censorship in any form. It’s so insulting to think that people can’t make up their own minds.”
I can understand the sensitivities around displaying artwork in a city-owned space that city employees find offensive, particularly in Mesa, which was once found to be the most conservative city in the U.S. of more than 250,000 residents and is the rare major U.S. city with Republican mayors. On the other hand, what Susi said.
The Mesa Arts Center said it will host the show at a later time, but it hasn’t announced dates yet nor what artists and artworks will be included.
How do you think Mesa should have handled this?
Belief in American exceptionalism is falling
A majority of U.S. adults believe the United States of America is one of, if not the best countries in the world, but that percentage has fallen in recent years.
A Pew Research Center survey released last week found the percentage of U.S. adults who believe the U.S. is one of the greatest countries, has fallen from 55% to 52% since 2019. In the same time period, those who believe the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world has fallen from 24% to 20%.
While Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe in American exceptionalism, there have been declines among Republicans and Republicans leaners since 2021, when Biden took office, and the total percentage of U.S. adults who believe other countries are better than the U.S. has grown modestly.
(To those who believe other countries are better than us, I’d say, check the scoreboard *points to the back-to-back World War champs and undefeated Super Bowl champs banners you just now notice hanging on my wall*.)
Have you seen this?
Washington State Parks has a new logo. The Seattle creative agency People People updated the Washington State Parks logo with the typeface GT Walsheim and images of the outdoors inspired by real places in the state. “The adjustments to our logo — evolving landforms, broadening our color palette, unifying our text — signify this new era,” Washington State Parks brand and creative marketing manager Stephanie McDermott said. [The Seattle Times]
The science behind why social media algorithms warp our view of the world. “Prestige becomes a poor signal of success because people can fake prestige on social media. Newsfeeds become oversaturated with negative and moral information so that there is conflict rather than cooperation.” [Fast Company]
Former Prime Minister Theresa May’s portrait was just unveiled in Parliament. The portrait of the former prime minister, the second woman to hold the job, was painted by Saied Dai. The portrait depicts May holding a lily of the valley, a flower that blooms in May, according to the BBC. [BBC]
NASA captures pollution from space with new probe, Tempo. The new data maps from Tempo could pose huge benefits for Earth, allowing us to “monitor and improve the quality of the air we breathe.” [It’s Nice That]
Truth Social wins more time to go public. Investors on Tuesday granted a last-minute lifeline to the company looking to take former President Donald Trump’s social media venture public. [Politico]
History of political design
“Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God” (1860). This cotton, handmade banner was made for the anti-slavery Rail Splitters Battalion No. 1, a pro-Lincoln group in Dorchester, Mass.
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Correction: an earlier version of this newsletter misnamed the Mesa museum. It is the “Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum,” not the “Mesa Community Arts Museum.” I regret the error.
One of the factors in higher costs is the outrageous cost of shipping from the Republican candidates. Postage for a 2 pack of buttons is $8.00, but the company called WinRed that handles the merchandise does not combine shipping. The postage for two 2 packs is $16.00, and for three 2 packs it is $24.00. The Democratic vendor who did the same in 2020 always combined shipping.