The ex-Republican who created the parody seal projected behind Trump is laughing all the way to the bank


When the conservative group Turning Point USA announced Thursday that it had fired the staffer who projected a parody presidential seal behind President Trump during his speech to the group, a spokesman said he thought it was an honest mistake based on a sloppy Google search. Charles Leazott, the 46-year-old graphic designer who created the seal after the 2016 election, a form of mocking catharsis for the Republican Party he said Trump drove him from, isn't buying it.
"That's a load of cr-p," Leazott told The Washington Post. "You have to look for this. There's no way this was an accident is all I'm saying." Leazott's parody seal has some obvious differences from the real one — the American eagle replaced by a two-headed eagle from Russia's coat of arms, golf clubs in one claw instead of arrows, wads of cash in the other claw — and some more subtle ones, like the U.S. motto "E pluibus unum" ("out of many, one") swapped with a Trump-specific Spanish phrase, "45 es un títere," or "45 is a puppet." No one at Turning Point USA or the White House noticed any of this until the Post pointed it out Wednesday.
The Turning Point USA staffer who put it behind Trump was "either wildly incompetent or the best troll ever — either way, I love them," Leazott told the Post. He had put the parody seal on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other merchandise on an online marketplace, and the publicity from the story led to a run on his products; as of Thursday afternoon, the shirts were sold out and he was struggling to meet demand, the Post reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"It's cool people are buying this, that's great and all," Leazott said. "But I've got to be honest, I am so tickled in the most petty way possible that the president of the United States, who I despise, stood up and gave a talk in front of this graphic. Whoever put that up is my absolute hero."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
How will the new Repayment Assistance Plan for student loans work?
the explainer The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will replace existing income-driven repayment plans
-
In the Spotlight Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been at odds with US forces
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black Keys
Feature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages