
The Trump Organisation has just launched a new range of army camouflage merchandise on its website.
For just $128, you too could have a Trump-branded zippered camo clutch bag. For $65, a "varsity stripe" hip flask is yours. Or how about an olive-coloured "rustic dog collar"? Just $38 while stocks last!
The range is extensive. There are windbreaker jackets, polo shirts, baseball caps, leather American footballs, socks and bobble hats.
New season, new camo 🍂 Shop the limited edition @TrumpStore collection just in time for Fall:… https://t.co/EiHMf7Ig5B— The Trump Organization (@The Trump Organization) 1568050913
But there's a big problem in the company choosing to adopt military chic for autumn: not a single member of the Trump family has served in the US armed forces and the president's record in dealing with the military is less than impressive.
Trump himself received no fewer than five draft deferrals preventing him from having to fight in the Vietnam War as a young man after being diagnosed with bone spurs. And, as his ex-attorney Michael Cohen famously testified before the House Oversight Committee in February, Trump indicated his medical report might not have been entirely above board and told him:
You think I'm stupid? I wasn't going to Vietnam.
But it goes back further than that.
The commander-in-chief's German grandfather, Frederick Trump, emigrated to the New York City from Bremen in 1885 specifically to avoid conscription into the Imperial German Army.
Frederick's descendant has more recently offended the families of fallen soldiers Humayun Khan and La David Johnson - in the former case by making Islamophobic statements about the late captain's parents, in the latter by telling the sergeant's grieving mother during a condolence call "he knew what he signed up for".
The president also notoriously attacked the late Republican senator and decorated veteran John McCain on the campaign trail in 2016, sneering at the Navy pilot's six years as a prisoner of war after being shot down over Hanoi in 1967:
He's a war hero because he was captured? I like people that weren't captured.
More recently, Trump has been busy defunding Pentagon construction projects in order to funnel capital towards his US-Mexico border wall without having to go through Congress.
So with all that back story, it's no surprise people have been mocking the new camo range.
@Trump @TrumpStore Someone's been on Deer Eye For The Straight Guy https://t.co/GmYi1fyHPX— lobsterstyle (@lobsterstyle) 1568067453
@Trump @TrumpStore I get it. It’s camo because when it came time for Trump to serve, no one could find him.— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1568068516
@Trump @TrumpStore Make Foreign Sweatshops Great Again!— Tim Bowen (@Tim Bowen) 1568080554
@Trump @TrumpStore What idiot would buy camo branded with the name of a five time draft dodger?— Leah McElrath 🏳️🌈 (@Leah McElrath 🏳️🌈) 1568067978
@Trump @TrumpStore I have some new design options for ya https://t.co/WmR5IP6c8X— ALT-immigration 🛂 (@ALT-immigration 🛂) 1568065624
But even more bizarrely, the president's eldest son Don Jr appears to have dribbled on his shirt in the picture the company chose for its promotional tweet.
@Trump @TrumpStore Use code "MAGA" for a camo T-shirt drooled up by @DonaldJTrumpJr himself! https://t.co/RR425eM9DE— Mom Chomsky (@Mom Chomsky) 1568094996