Trump sells Bibles, perfumes and sneakers to raise funds in tepid campaign

At a time when Donald Trump faces increasing financial obligations due to legal proceedings and his campaign is falling short in fundraising, the Republican candidate has started selling Bibles, perfumes and sneakers to his supporters.

The “God Bless USA” Bibles include a copy of the American Constitution, cost 60 dollars (about 56 euros) and are being characterized as “patriotic Bibles”, having inscribed the Pledge of Allegiance, the US Bill of Rights and the chorus from the song “God Bless the USA” by country singer Lee Greenwood.

“Let’s make America pray again”, announced Trump on his Truth Social network, where he promoted the sale of Bibles. “Religion and Christianity are the things this country is most lacking, and I really believe we need to bring them back and quickly,” he said in a promotional video.

North American media outlets have noted that many churches give Bibles to worshipers for free and that the retail price is substantially lower.

The price of Trump Bibles is, however, more affordable than other promotional items associated with the Republican candidate that are being sold to raise money. The limited edition “Never Surrender” sneakers, which have an American flag on a gold color, cost 399 dollars (370 euros), while other models — such as the “Potus 45” and the “Red Wave” are priced at 199 dollars (185 euros) without VAT.

Trump also launched a perfume for men and another for women, with the brand name Victory 47 and a price tag of 99 dollars (92 euros).

Although revenue from Bible sales does not go to Trump’s campaign, the expansion of ‘merchandising’ that uses his name and image (produced by third parties via licensing) comes at a time when the campaign is well behind that of President Joe Biden in terms of fundraising.

An Axios analysis in March concluded that Biden’s presidential campaign had more than twice as much money ($71 million, about 66 million euros) as Trump’s ($33.5 million, or 31 million euros).

The Democratic National Committee has also obtained more funds (26.5 million dollars or 24.6 million euros) compared to the Republican National Committee (11.3 million dollars or 10.5 million euros), now fully controlled by the Trump family. According to political analysts who have commented in the media, large Republican donors will be reluctant to finance the campaign because many of the funds are being diverted to Donald Trump’s legal costs.

The Political Action Committee (PAC) that supports Trump, “Save America”, has spent, on average, $238,000 (263,000 euros) per day on the candidate’s legal expenses, according to an analysis by The Daily Beast.

On April 1st, the former president paid a bail of 175 million dollars (162 million euros) relating to his conviction in a fraud case in New York, after having managed to get the appeal court to lower the original amount (464 millions). Trump’s lawyers argued that no insurer was willing to guarantee the full amount.

This payment followed the bail of 91 million dollars (84.4 million euros) paid at the beginning of March, also in New York, so that Trump could appeal his conviction in the defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll.