Trump’s deals to sell Bibles, sneakers and perfume are unprecedented for a presidential candidate, experts say

Sneakers.
Perfume.
Trading
cards.
Bibles.

Those
are
just
some
of
the
products

Donald
Trump
is
hawking
while
he
runs
to
unseat
President

Joe
Biden.

They
join
a
sprawling
catalog
of
Trump-branded
merchandise,
ranging
from
steaks
to
scented
candles,
that
the
businessman-turned-president
has
licensed
over
the
years.

But
as
his
campaign
coffers

dwindle
and
his
fortune
comes

under
threat,
Trump
—
who
has
never
completely

severed
his
political
career
from
his
financial
one
—
is
now
actively
intertwining
his
business
ventures
with
his
White
House
bid.

“There
is
no
precedent
for
this
level”
of
business
activity
during
a
presidential
campaign,
Harvard
Law
School
Professor
Lawrence
Lessig
told
CNBC,
though “the
trend
has
been
building
for
many
years.”

Brendan
Fischer,
deputy
executive
director
of
money-in-politics
watchdog
Documented,
agreed.

“I
can’t
think
of
any
other
modern
example
of
a
presidential
candidate
hawking
an
array
of
goods
for
their
private
benefit,”
Fischer
said.

For
an
average
candidate,
that
activity
might
trigger
a
campaign
finance
investigation
—
but
it
likely
won’t
for
Trump,
who
has
been
selling
branded
goods
long
before
he
entered
politics,
according
to
Fischer.

“Trump
is
a
unique
case,”
he
said.

That
uniqueness
was
on
full
display
Tuesday,
as
Trump
unveiled
his
latest
promotion:
a

$60
Bible
that
includes
copies
of
the
nation’s
founding
documents,
along
with
lyrics
from
country
star
Lee
Greenwood’s
hit
song, “God
Bless
the
U.S.A.”

The
song
by
Greenwood,
who
is
partnering
with
Trump
to
endorse
the
high-priced
holy
book,
is
a
regular
needle
drop
at
the
presumptive
Republican
nominee’s
campaign
rallies.

Trump
made
the
campaign
connection
even
more
explicit
in
a
video
announcing
the
promotion,
warning
that
Americans’
rights
are
under
threat
and
declaring, “we’re
gonna
get
it
turned
around.”
He
also
invoked
his
campaign
slogan, “Make
America
Great
Again,”
multiple
times.

It
is
unclear
how
much
money
Trump
is
making
off
the
Bible
—
he
is
receiving
royalties
from
its
sales,
a
person
familiar
with
the
arrangement
told

The
New
York
Times
—
but
whatever
he
gets
will
be
effectively
going
into
his
pocket.

The
website
for
the
Bibles
says
it
has
no
link
to
Trump’s
campaign.
It
instead
uses
Trump’s
name,
likeness
and
image
under
paid
license
from
a
company
called

CIC
Ventures
LLC.

Trump’s
2023
financial

disclosure
calls
him
the “Manager,
President,
Secretary,
&
Treasurer”
of
CIC
Ventures,
and
lists
his
revocable
trust
as
the
sole
owner
of
the
company.
Trump
has
made
more
than
$5
million
in
speaking
engagements
through
the
company,
the
disclosure
shows.
Florida
business
records
show
CIC’s
address
is
the
same
as
Trump’s
golf
club
in
West
Palm
Beach,
Florida.

Lessig
noted
that
Trump’s
business
moves
do
not
appear
to
be
violating
campaign
ethics
or
financial
rules.

“I
don’t
think
there’s
any
ethical
problem
with
it
at
all
—
so
long
as
the
proper
reporting
requirements
are
complied
with,”
the
professor
said.

“There
may
well
be
a
strategic
or
brand
problem
with
it,
but
that’s
the
same
as
with
any
political
speech,”
he
added.

Trump
campaign
spokesman
Steven
Cheung
told
CNBC, “These
successful
business
deals
are
completely
separate
from
the
campaign.”

Trump’s
Biblical
endorsement
came
during
Holy
Week,
the
run-up
to
Easter
and
a
sacred
time
for
Christians.
It
also
came
less
than
six
weeks
after
Trump
traveled
to
a

sneaker
convention
in
Philadelphia
to
launch
his
own
line
of
tennis
shoes.

The
aptly
titled
Trump
Sneakers
range
in
price
from
$199
up
to
$399
to
preorder.
Two
of
the
available
styles
are
decorated
with
the
number
45,
a
reference
to
Trump’s
tenure
as
the
45th
U.S.
president.

That
website
selling
the
sneakers
also
advertises
Trump-branded “Victory47”
cologne
and
perfume,
both
of
which
cost
$99.

“‘Victory’
is
the
signature
scent
of
strength
and
success,
encased
in
a
luxurious
gold
bottle,”
the
site’s
description
of
the
cologne
reads.

Trump’s
appearance
at
the
convention
further
blurred
the
line
between
campaign
outreach
and
capitalist
enterprise.

“We’re
going
to
turn
this
country
around
fast.
We’re
going
to
turn
it
around.
And
we’re
going
to
remember
the
young
people,
and
we’re
going
to
remember
Sneaker
Con,”
he
told
the
crowd,
which
greeted
him
with
a
mix
of
cheers
and
boos.

The
sneaker
site
says
that “Trump”
and
its
associated
design
are
trademarks
of
CIC
Ventures,
and
it
notes
that
Trump
has
licensed
his
name
and
likeness
to
a
company
called
45Footwear
LLC.
That
firm
is

reportedly
registered
in
Wyoming,
one
of
the
cheapest
places
in
the
country
to
start
a
business.

The
shoes
are
not
designed,
made
or
distributed
by
Trump
or
the
Trump
Organization,
according
to
the
site.

As
the
Biden
campaign
extends
its
fundraising
lead
over
Trump’s
political
operation,
the
GOP
nominee
has
said
he “might”
put
his
own
money
into
the
race.
He
did
not
do
so
in
2020.

Trump
also
has
just
days
to
post
a
$175
million
appeal
bond
to
pause
the
state
of
New
York
from
collecting
on
a
$454
million
civil
fraud
judgment
against
him.
He
already
put
up
a
$91.6
million
bond
as
he
appeals
a
separate
civil
case
where
he
was
found
liable
of
defaming
writer
E.
Jean
Carroll.

Trump
also
faces
91
criminal
charges
in
four
separate
courts,
with
his
first
trial
set
for
April
15.
Trump
has
spent
more
than
$100
million
on
his
legal
fees
since
leaving
office
in
2021,
though
none
of
it
has
come
from
his
own
pocket,
according
to

The
New
York
Times.