As surely as Donald Trump sought to cash in on his various criminal indictments, so the former president turned Republican presidential nominee began to sell merchandise commemorating his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania last weekend.
In Butler county on Saturday, a rooftop gunman wielding an AR-15-style rifle fired shots at the stage. Trump was wounded in one ear. One rally-goer was killed and two injured. The gunman, who was killed by a sniper, was discovered to have had an explosive device in his car.
Despite such traumatic events, 45Footwear, a company which has sold $399 golden Trump-branded sneakers, swiftly offered a new range of high-tops.
Rather more pricey than unofficial assassination merch churned out in China, the $299 white shoes were emblazoned with the US flag, an image of Trump with fist raised and face bloodied and the words “Fight Fight Fight” – his instant reaction to being shot.
Imagine your spouse taking a bullet intended for Trump, then watching him sell shoes to commemorate and profit from the event. Imagine witnessing these things occur as any person, and still thinking Trump deserves a donation or a vote.
Edit - I know that no one likes comments about downvotes, but I just wanted to say that nothing confirms my expectations of Republicans more than the knowledge that some butthurt maga read what I wrote above, and disagreed strongly enough to downvote it rather than pause for one moment to consider what that would feel like if someone they cared about were shot.