President Donald Trump’s merchandise empire is reportedly suffering from the very issue he once promised to end on Day 1 of his second term: inflation.
“Make America Great Again” hats, for instance, are currently listed at $55 each on the Trump Organization’s website and $40 a pop in the official online store for the president’s political action committee.
That’s an eyebrow-raising leap from the price of the caps back in 2015, when they went for $25 apiece in the latter online store, The Washington Sun (formerly NOTUS) found in an analysis of the Wayback Machine’s archives.
They cost $5 more (or $30 each) in the store on the day of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack, per the report.
You can read more on the rising prices of Trump-themed items — such as fragrances and medallions — here.
The report on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats — the slogan of a president whose tariffs and war of choice have increased the cost of living — comes as merchandise sellers say sales have taken a nosedive, with one vendor telling Fortune that stores nationwide are closing and that demand has “absolutely gone down” since 2024.
A recent Fox News poll found that a majority of registered voters (77%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation.
Todd Belt, a professor of political management at George Washington University in the nation’s capital, told the Sun the higher prices were irrelevant to most of the president’s supporters but called the markup “tone-deaf” since affordability has been a top concern for voters.
“That’s trying to get all the sales you can before you leave office,” Belt said.
“Donald Trump knows that his political career is on the clock, and he’s going to try to get as much out of it financially as he possibly can.”