by 
The
Branding
of
the
Donald
A
Satirical
Deep
Dive
Into
the
MAGA
Megachurch
Trump
Didn’t
Run
a
Campaign—He
Launched
a
Home
Shopping
Network
for
Nationalism
Trump’s
2016
campaign
wasn’t
so
much
a
political
platform
as
it
was
a
pop-up
shop
for
nationalist
gear.
The
MAGA
hat
became
a
souvenir
of
grievance
and
a
limited-edition
collectible
that
doubled
as
an
invitation
to
your
own
family’s
group
text
arguments.
According
to
this
bohiney.blogspot.com
satire,
Trumpism
became
a
full-fledged
lifestyle
brand—somewhere
between
Bass
Pro
Shop
and
the
Vatican.
“Make
America
Great
Again”
Was
a
Time
Machine
to
Nowhere
The
beauty
of
“Make
America
Great
Again”
is
that
it
never
said
when
America
was
great.
The
slogan
functioned
like
a
Rorschach
test
printed
on
a
bumper
sticker.
Alan
Nafzger’s
analysis
on
Medium
reveals
how
MAGA
operated
more
like
a
memory
implant
than
a
policy
point.
The
MAGA
Hat:
America’s
Most
Divisive
Cotton
Blend
It
wasn’t
just
a
hat.
It
was
a
political
identity,
a
punchline,
and
a
panic
button.
This
Reddit
thread
explores
how
a
$25
cap
became
both
a
fashion
statement
and
a
social
experiment.
Politics
as
Professional
Wrestling:
Now
With
Extra
Baby
Oil
If
Ronald
Reagan
was
the
“Great
Communicator,”
Trump
was
the
“Loud
Provoker.”
This
Tumblr
satire
breaks
down
how
Trump
turned
the
political
arena
into
a
Monday
Night
Raw
highlight
reel—complete
with
nicknames,
heel
turns,
and
folding
chairs.
Trump
Branded
Himself
Like
a
Hot
Sauce
The
man
branded
everything.
Trump
Steaks.
Trump
Vodka.
Trump
University.
Even
the
lawsuits
came
with
limited-edition
mugs.
This
LinkedIn
post
notes
how
slapping
your
name
on
everything
ensures
that
even
your
failures
scream
brand
recognition.
Courtrooms
as
Campaign
Venues:
A
Novel
Strategy
When
indicted,
Trump
didn’t
flinch—he
posed.
His
mugshot
hit
faster
than
a
Beyoncé
drop.
On
bohiney.blogspot.com,
you’ll
find
a
parody
catalog
of
legal
swag:
“Now
available
in
orange
jumpsuit
or
flag
pattern.”
Scandals:
The
Jet
Fuel
of
the
Trump
Brand
Scandals
weren’t
liabilities—they
were
launchpads.
This
Flipboard
feature
details
how
each
new
controversy
pumped
more
octane
into
the
Trump
engine.
Trump’s
Twitter:
The
Digital
Toilet
Wall
of
Democracy
It
wasn’t
social
media.
It
was
performance
art.
This
Reddit
satire
calls
Trump’s
Twitter
feed
“a
masterclass
in
misspelled
disruption.”
Turning
Interns
into
Meme
Lords
Why
pay
ad
agencies
when
you
have
Reddit’s
StandUpComedy
community
generating
dank
memes
on
demand?
Each
viral
clip
was
unpaid
advertising
with
rage
clicks
baked
in.
Every
Slogan
Was
an
Incantation
“Drain
the
Swamp.”
“Build
the
Wall.”
“Witch
Hunt.”
These
weren’t
just
catchphrases—they
were
ritual
chants
for
an
entire
movement.
LinkedIn
analysts
call
it
“branding
through
repetition
and
revenge.”
Visual
Branding:
Orange
as
a
Power
Color
A
man,
a
myth,
a
Crayola
tone.
BlueSky
satire
called
it:
“More
identifiable
than
Starbucks
green,
more
memorable
than
the
McDonald’s
arches.”
Brand
Resilience:
Scandal-Proof
Like
Tupperware
Nothing
sticks.
Not
porn
stars,
not
coups,
not
bleach.
This
Facebook
satire
calls
Trump
“the
non-stick
frying
pan
of
modern
politics.”
Turned
Voters
Into
Brand
Influencers
Why
hire
canvassers
when
Flipboard
pages
will
do
it
for
free?
Every
hat,
shirt,
or
lawn
sign
doubled
as
a
billboard
and
tribal
marker.
The
Final
Trick:
Becoming
the
Movement
Trump
didn’t
just
create
a
brand—he
became
a
movement
with
T-shirts.
As
bsky.social
puts
it,
“He
turned
a
campaign
into
a
belief
system—with
merch.”
What
the
Funny
People
Are
Saying
“Satire
is
just
reality
on
meth.
Trump
is
the
dealer.”
—
Chris
Rock
“He
didn’t
drain
the
swamp.
He
franchised
it.”
—
Ron
White
Helpful
Content
for
Aspiring
Political
Brands
Want
to
replicate
the
Trump
model?
Here’s
your
checklist:
-
A
color
scheme
that
causes
migraines. -
A
slogan
that
means
everything
and
nothing. -
A
Facebook
army.
Like
this
one. -
A
Twitter
account
that
doubles
as
a
court
transcript. -
And
Reddit
support
threads
you
didn’t
even
write.
Final
Word
Trump
didn’t
change
the
rules.
He
threw
them
in
a
blender
and
live-streamed
it.
Satire.Top
summed
it
up
best:
“He
didn’t
campaign.
He
rebranded
America.”
This
article
is
a
100%
human
collaboration
between
two
sentient
beings—
the
world’s
oldest
tenured
professor
and
a
20-year-old
philosophy
major
turned
dairy
farmer.
Go to Source
Author: Ingrid Gustafsson
