Nationalism is the hottest new merch trend

[ResidentialBusiness]

President Donald Trump’s return to office has inspired hats north of the border, while Republicans have turned his expansionist foreign policy pronouncements into shirts for fundraising. The campaign might be over, but the merch has just begun.

After Ontario Premier Doug Ford wore a “Canada Is Not for Sale” hat earlier this month at a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers (the Canadian equivalent of a U.S. governor), the hat’s maker, Ottawa-based Jackpine Dynamic Branding, was overwhelmed with orders. Trump’s statements about tariffs and annexation have struck a nerve with our neighbors to the north.

“Nothing is more important than the country,” Premier Ford said during a press conference while wearing the hat. “President Trump wants to devastate Canada. He wants to devastate Canada through economic sanctions and tariffs. That’s unacceptable.”

[Image: Jackpine Dynamic Branding]

The $45 hats spell out the slogan in Times New Roman, the same font as used for Trump’s original “Make America Great Again” hats—and because this is Canada, there’s also a version in French: “Le Canada n’est pas à vendre.”

Jackpine founder Liam Mooney told Reuters he was inspired to create the hats as a response to Trump’s unseemly rhetoric toward Canada and as a statement about nationalism and unity. “It’s an opportunity to bring people together from all of civil society, regardless of political persuasion,” he said. “Our sovereignty is threatened when our dignity is disrespected.”

Meanwhile, Republicans are fundraising off Trump’s second-term priorities for the U.S. sphere of influence in the Americas. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is out with $35 tees showing an illustrated bald eagle with Trump hair relaxing on a beach chair with a beer, featuring the words, “Greetings from the Gulf of America” to celebrate Trump’s executive order unofficially renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

To sell the Trump National Committee joint fundraising committee’s own $35 “Gulf of America!” tee, a recent Trump campaign fundraising email asked recipients if they “live near the Gulf of Mexico?” followed by, “Well, now you don’t!” It’s also selling “Make Greenland Great Again” tees. No word yet on official Panama Canal merch, but a third party is selling “Make Panama Canal American Again” shirts on Amazon.

A promotional graphic for the NRCC’s “Greetings from the Gulf of America” tee (top) and two Trump National Committee JFC’s tees

The “Canada Is Not for Sale” hat is a statement of nationalism and sovereignty, and apparently, the “Gulf of America” and “Make Greenland Great Again” tees are meant to communicate much the same thing. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump earlier this month by joking that North America should be renamed “América Mexicana.” (Nothing of this ilk has been printed yet as merch, but, um, give it time. . . . )

Most contemporary political merch tends toward sloganeering over policy proposals (although a “No Tax on Tips” decal sold by the Trump campaign during the 2024 race was a rare exception). Still, it’s not as if the Republicans’ new foreign-policy-themed merch is focused on, say, bringing peace to the Middle East or remaining competitive with China. What is “Gulf of America,” really, but sloganeering?

This story originally appeared in Yello, a newsletter about politics, art, branding, and design.

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