That image is real. You can actually buy that … thing. Why someone would create such a thing and why someone would want such a thing is less baffling when you realize the power of ressentiment.
I wrote about ressentiment here on Medium several years ago. In my book on why some people support Trump, I appropriately acknowledged the central place of ressentiment in the history of the right wing in the United States. The particular and peculiar strain of political culture that has for centuries dominated the American right wing is fueled by ressentiment. And these people currently focus on Trump.
Trump Swag — The Purveyors
“Hey buddy, wanna buy a designer watch? Yeah, it’s real, just real cheap ‘cuz I got a source.”
Some people try to capitalize on other people’s gullibility to make some quick, easy money. Trump has made a career at that. It is not surprising that similarly minded people would try to cater to the market that falls for Trump’s act.
The purveyors sell Trump swag like the fake $2 bill at the beginning of this article. And these “trading cards.”
You know that’s real because I’m not insane enough to be able to make up such things. Trump does not play baseball, or box, or drive a train, but hey, you can buy this swag. I gotta love the Obama rip-off card and the fake Trump wearing an airplane pilot uniform in front of a train. That’s what you get for using AI.
This is pure exploitation by grifters. I have no idea how many Trumpers fall for this hustle, but the profit margin has to be good. Little effort was spent on these AI-generated images. Nor was much effort spent on stealing this photo to create this “trading card.”
You too can buy that “mint condition” Trump Assassination Attempt card, and presumably display it next to your Mike Trout rookie card.
Oh, it gets even sillier and weirder. How about the Talking Trumpinator?
It also comes in a bobblehead version.
Here’s the interesting bit. Some of those items that I shared with you (and apologies for that, you might not be able to unsee those images) are available for only $1 each. Yes, only one dollar! That strongly suggests that the real purpose of these memorabilia is to get your personal contact information. If you are so in the tank that you will buy fake $2 bills, “trading cards,” and figurines, you can probably be scammed out of serious money.
Trump Swag — The Earnest Meaning Seekers
It’s obvious why scammers and con artists would try to sell such Trump swag, but why would anyone buy such crap? It’s basically because of the same phenomenon that I identified that explains why conspiracy theories are successful.
We’re human beings; we have emotions; we have a sense of self; we want to have that sense of self grounded in meaning. If we don’t get the meaning and recognition that we desire, we will be tempted to manufacture meaning and recognition. Earnest meaning seekers join causes and movements partly because belonging to them gives purpose and meaning. Why people support Trump and the MAGA movement is to cultivate senses of belonging and meaning.
Acquiring fetish objects is one way to give oneself a sense of meaning and belonging. If you are inclined, you can buy this fetish object of Trump treating the US flag as a fetish object.
That doesn’t look like Trump, but it does look like a fetish object — think more Star Wars collectables than old-time religion. Hmm, that fetish doll looks more like Dan Quayle.
As I show in my book, the real fetish object isn’t Trump, it’s the myth of American nationalism — the idea that America is distinct, and, of course, superior to other countries. American nationalism has a long history, arguably as old as the United States itself. It is America’s civil religion with its own prophets and martyrs, sacred events and sacred places, brought together with its own solemn rituals and symbols. However, it is a religion that, as Robert N. Bellah says, “has often been used and is being used today as a cloak for petty interests and ugly passions.”[1]
American nationalism, including the MAGA movement, provides its supporters with a sense of meaning and, more importantly, a sense of identity. People buy and wear Trump swag to purchase an identity. It makes them feel they belong to something. It also provides a veneer of legitimacy for their petty interests and ugly passions.
Those passions are ressentiment — feelings of hating and despising other people. Those feelings of ressentiment are rooted in feelings of impotency. The reactionary Right is composed of people who feel weak and who compensate for those feelings of impotence by hating those who are different, believing they are actually superior to those other people, and fetishing America as a shining city on a hill. Trump swag is optional, but it completes the set of fetish objects.
Trump is a symptom, not a cause, of American nationalism. Trump is successful only in that he somehow managed to exploit the petty interests and ugly passions of America’s reactionaries. Some of his fellow grifters are exploiting the passions in some really weird ways. Is the Trump blow-up doll next?
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[1] Robert Neelly Bellah, “Civil Religion in America,” Dædalus, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 96 (1), 1967, 19.