Trump campaign raises nearly $500,000 selling plastic straws
‘Liberal paper’ drinking straws useless, says top aide
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Donald Trump‘s re-election campaign has pocketed nearly $500,000 (£411,000) through the sale of branded plastic straws, the president’s top aide has said.
The 9in, laser-engraved drinking aids are reusable, recyclable and BPA free, according to Mr Trump’s website.
Supporters can buy a pack of 10 red straws with the president’s name in black for $15 (£12.33).
Brad Parscale, Mr Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign manager, said in a tweet that sales had netted nearly $500,000 so far.
“Liberal paper straws don’t work,” reads the product page. “STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP and buy your pack of recyclable straws today.”
The idea of branded plastic straws apparently stems from Mr Parscale’s dislike of the environmentally-friendly paper version.
On 18 July he tweeted an image of a soggy, crumpled straw in a plastic cup and said: “I’m so over paper straws. #LiberalProgress This is exactly what they would do to the economy as well. Squeeze it until it doesn’t work.”
Responding to a Twitter user who complained the $15 Trump straw pack was “a little pricey”, Mr Parscale said: “Remember, every dollar spent in the store is a donation going to help re-elect @realDonaldTrump in 2020! This way you get a fun memory and make a donation at the same time!”
Other items on Mr Trump’s online shop include his now-infamous “Make America Great Again” baseball caps, and swimming costumes bearing the same slogan priced at $55 (£45). Shoppers can “make a YUGE splash poolside or at the beach this summer”, the site says.
Also available are branded pint glasses, dog leads and sunglass holders.
Focus on the widespread use of plastic has intensified in the wake of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II.
They will be banned in England – where people use an estimated 4.7 billion a year – from April 2020, alongside cotton buds and plastic stirrers. The European Union plans similar bans on single-use plastic, such as cutlery, from 2021, as does Canada.
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