The Trump presidency will be unlike any in our history, including his first term. This time, the Trump Organization is going all in to monetize his fame and position. Never before has a President gone to such lengths to monetize his name.

Cat Zakrzewski of The Washington Post reported:

The Trump Store has a gift for every patriot on your Christmas list.

It’s a little late for this year’s celebrations, but you can get a very early jump on next year and count down with the $38 Trump Advent calendar. Or trim the tree with a $95 Mar-a-Lago bauble or a $16 MAGA hat ornament, sold in nine colors. (A glass version of the hat ornament is $92.) Stuff stockings with an $86 “GIANT Trump Chocolate Gold Bar” and a $22 pair of candy cane socks printed with “Trump.” Prepare a holiday feast with a $14 Trump Christmas tree pot holder and $28 Trump apron featuring Santa waving an American flag.

The profits from these holiday trinkets do not benefit a political committee or a charitable cause, but the Trump Organization, the Trump family’s privately owned conglomerate of real estate, hotel and lifestyle businesses. As the company encouraged customers to celebrate the holidays with Trump gifts for all ages, President-elect Donald Trump personally profited off of his upcoming term in a manner that is unprecedented in modern history — even during his unconventional first stint in the White House.

The Trump Organization thought of everyone celebrating Trump’s nonconsecutive terms this yuletide season, rolling out a line of merchandise printed with “45-47,” including $195 quarter-zip sweatshirts, $85 cigar ashtrays and $38 baseball caps. Fido can’t go without his gear, of course: The store also sells gifts for dogs, including orange leashes and camo collars emblazoned with Trump’s name. And don’t forget the kids! How about a $38 teddy bear wearing a red, white or blue Trump sweater, $8 MAGA hat stickers or an array of Trump sweets, including $16 gummy bears?

All of these gifts can be wrapped in $28 golden Trump wrapping paper or stuck into Trump ornament gift bags ($14 a pair), and accompanied by a note on $35 stationery featuring bottles of Trump wine.
“Make the holidays that much greater this year with essentials from the Trump Home and Holiday collection,” the website says, over a photo of an Elf on the Shelf toy and a lime-green MAGA hat.

Trump has long delighted in finding new ways to market his name, creating a merchandise empire that includes digital trading cards, pricey sneakers, expensive watches and signed Bibles. But his expansion of offerings in the run-up to the inauguration has further concerned ethics experts and watchdogs, who say his behavior is the opposite of what they expect from a president-in-waiting during the transition….

Throughout December, Trump has used his account on Truth Social to hawk products for the holidays. In between posts laying out his positions on the chaos in Syria and the government spending bill, Trump posted that the “hottest gift” this Christmas is his $99 coffee table tome, “SAVE AMERICA.” The book is sold by Winning Team Publishing, a company co-founded by his son Donald and Sergio Gor, the next director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel….

Incoming first lady Melania Trump promoted her own line of Christmas ornaments and necklaces during a December interview with Fox News, where she discussed her husband’s “incredible” election victory. She described the ornaments as “very patriotic” and said the design was inspired by the election. The $90 brass ornament features “USA” in red, white and blue, and the gold “Vote Freedom” pendant retails for $600.

A representative for Melania Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, the president-elect also announced he had launched a fragrance line, which includes the $199 “VICTORY 47” perfume for women and the “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” cologne for men. Products for Christmas delivery were sold out as of Dec. 19. Trump promoted the fragrances on Truth Social with a photo of Jill Biden smiling at him during a service this month celebrating the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

“A FRAGRANCE YOUR ENEMIES CAN’T RESIST!” the caption said.

The fragrance website is operated by 45Footwear LLC, the same company that operates GetTrumpSneakers.com, a website currently selling $499 “Trump Won Gold Low Top Sneakers.” The fragrance website says that Trump’s name and associated design are trademarks of CIC Ventures LLC and that 45Footwear uses Trump’s likeness under a licensing agreement.

“Trump Fragrances are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals,” the website says.

The precise structure of the fragrance deal is unclear. CIC Ventures is a Trump company, The Washington Post has previously reported, and 45Footwear is affiliated with an LLC of the same name that is based in Sheridan, Wyo., according to state records. The LLC was filed by a Wyoming lawyer named Andrew Pierce.

Politicians have long sold T-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and even ugly Christmas sweaters to finance their campaigns or political action committees, and the Trump National Committee is also selling some Christmas merchandise, including a variety of MAGA stockings that feature a photo of Trump in a Santa hat. After leaving office, presidents often make money from speaking fees or by selling their memoirs.
But a president privately profiting off merchandise related to his election is highly unusual.

Government ethics experts say Trump’s merchandise sales are just one example of the new financial conflicts of interest that Trump’s presidency will raise. It is unprecedented for a president to own a multibillion-dollar stake in a publicly traded company, as Trump does in Trump Media & Technology Group. Because the stake represents a significant portion of the president-elect’s net worth, ethics experts are concerned that wealthy individuals, companies and funds associated with foreign governments could seek to influence Trump by pouring money into the business.