I don’t think that’s bad unless the seller claims to be representing the causes they’re selling for.

They do via their advertising copy, which strongly implies it. The productization of opinion is a Bad Thing in my view, for the simple reason that it becomes profitable to stoke conflict and commercial entities are therefore incentivized to do so.

You think this is bad? Wait until you see what the "news" media does!

Elvis’ manager did this with ‘I hate elvis badges’.

It’s not quite comparable though - this is deliberately deceiving a market into acquiring a service they didn’t need, which is basically racketeering.

In the US, I feel like I only see one side buying merchandise. Especially offensive and obnoxious merchandise.

A few seconds worth of work reveals how false this is. Perhaps it's just that you find one type of merchandise offensive but find the other type pleasant. Perhaps this open bias is coloring your perceptions?

I’m mid 30s, and I don’t recall anytime other than the last 7 years in which I saw people wearing stuff that came anywhere close to “Fuck <president>”. Or chanting it at random non political sporting events with families with children in attendance.

And I don’t see the other party doing anything equivalent, from giant flags on pickup trucks, to roadside merchandise stalls, to pick up truck convoys that harass and bully other candidates on the road…

Don't forget people modding their trucks to roll coal.

I guess the liberal equivalent is driving a Prius or something. Both sides, right..?

Yeah nah, that's some sweet Dark Brandon merch out there.

Guarantee someone's already selling some Jacked Up Joe merch already.

There's always someone selling merch though, a few years back a rather famous/infamous politician in NZ, Winston Peters, came out of left field to win a by-election in the electorate of Northland that the ruling National party government expected to win easy, the same party that had snubbed his offers to work together.

So people started selling "King in the North" t-shirts with ol Winnie photoshopped onto Jon Snow. I, being honest, nearly bought one, because you had to admire his schtick.

So yeah, there's always merch.

But, AFAIK, at least no-one is selling Joe Biden fan art NFTs yet. It's like a double grift.

And obviously Trump loves the merch far more because he gets a cut.

Winnie didn’t show up a few years ago, he was around in the 90’s. He’s like a comic book villain that the writers keep reincarnating.

that merch spam is so damn prevalent on Twitter right now! with hyperpartisanship and emotions so high i often wonder what the profits are like..