Pride Month is always fun because in addition to getting a month packed with events celebrating LGBTQIA+ life and commemorating our history, we also get to enjoy the spectacle of watching corporate brands and questionable agencies try to convince us that they’re allies.
The phenomenon is so prevalent during Pride month, it’s been turned into a fantastic meme:
As a gay black woman who grew up in a cult, I was afraid to come out of the closet. That’s why this month I’m partnering with IKEA to build my dream closet
— 🦋 (@simply_lay_) June 1, 2022
as a gay teenager, i never felt like i had the proper tools to succeed. that’s why, for this pride month, i’ve partnered with home depot,
— kcl (@kycarrerolopez) May 31, 2022
But the actual, real-life examples are truly beyond parody:
June is #PrideMonth. To our current #LGBTQ+ colleagues: We thank you. And to anyone who aspires to join our ranks: Know that no matter whom you love or how you identify, there’s a place for you at the #FBI. pic.twitter.com/bmXD680xNj
— FBI (@FBI) June 2, 2022
Throughout June, the USMC takes #Pride in recognizing and honoring the contributions of our LGBTQ service members. We remain committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination, and defend the values of treating all equally, with dignity and respect.#PrideMonth #USMC pic.twitter.com/MOyvFmyJiB
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) June 1, 2022
Of all the people, brands, government agencies, and military branches that have tried to cash in on Pride month, though, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for Donald Trump Jr., son and surrogate mouthpiece to one of the most bigoted, oppressive leaders in modern U.S. history, to try to get in on the Pride merch game.
Don Jr. has an extensive merch store on his website—most of which are shirts that look straight out of your worst uncle’s targeted Facebook ads. But among those, there’s this monstrosity:
Yes, Don Jr. departed from the oh-so-clever “Let’s Go Brandon” slogan that appears on most of these anti-Biden items to co-opt the LGBTQ acronym as an acrostic for “Let’s Get Biden To Quit.” I would like to meet the person who would buy and wear this, solely so that I can plan the rest of my entire life around avoiding them.
On Thursday night, Jimmy Kimmel also did a segment on the hypocrisy of Don Jr.’s merch, which proudly declares itself to be “American owned & operated” and “Designed and Printed in the USA!” The hats claim to be “Designed & Embroidered in the USA!” But—surprise, surprise—they’re not actually made in the U.S.
For instance, Kimmel drew attention to a hat that reads “FJB”—short for “Fuck Joe Biden”—that “may have been designed and embroidered here, but we ordered one of the hats and boy, you’re not gonna believe this, it was actually made in, how about that, China.”
“You won’t find that on his website though,” the host added, presenting product after product, from a “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirt to one that reads “Let’s Get Biden to Quit” (“Just in time for Pride Month”) to the “lovely sentiment,” “In a World Full of Alecs, Be a Kyle” that were manufactured in countries like Nicaragua and El Salvador.
(image: screencap)
