Jimmy Kimmel orders a bunch of official Trump merchandise, notices something pretty off-brand

Jimmy Kimmel finds something strange about Trump merch

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Jimmy Kimmel Live)

published 15 March 2018

"Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans suffered a major loss in Pennsylvania last night," with Democrat Conor Lamb beating Republican Rick Saccone in a district President Trump won by 20 points, Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday's Kimmel Live. The White House says the election was "essentially a tie," Kimmel laughed, "but it's not a tie, it's a loss. If it was a tie, it would be scotch-taped to Donald Trump's shirt and manufactured in China."

A week earlier, Trump had "made a very blatant attempt to woo voters in Pennsylvania by calling for heavy tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel," Kimmel said. "Trump, as you know, wants to focus on America, American-made products and goods. And so I wondered, because I agree with that, how things were going on his family website," run by Trump sons Eric and Don. Jr.? "These guys are red, white, and blue to the core — they're like a couple of flags wearing hair gel," Kimmel said. So he logged on to the official Trump store, "and even though my wife was yelling at me the whole time I was on the site, saying, 'Don't order anything from that,' I ordered a bunch of stuff."

Kimmel brought out the box. Don Jr. included a nice thank you note, but most of the Trump-branded merch was made in — where else? — China. Two of the items — a gold bar piggy bank and a dog neckerchief — did not list a country of origin, however, which is illegal (at least if they were made abroad) and subject to steep penalties. "Trump's whole platform is about supporting American companies," Kimmel said. "His companies aren't even supporting America. You know what I'm going to do? I'm sure Eric and Don Jr. didn't know about this, I'm sure this was a simple oversight. I'll just file an official complaint and let them sort it out." Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.