Presidential candidates are ready to stuff your stockings with campaign Christmas cheer

Image via AP.

The field of 2024 presidential candidates may have some options for shoppers scrambling for a last-minute holiday gift.

As the campaign for the White House kicks into full gear, the contenders are offering an onslaught of holiday-themed merchandise, many of which capture some of the surreal aspects of the 2024 race. Donald Trump, for instance, is embracing his status as the first former president to face criminal charges by emblazoning his mug shot on Christmas sweaters, gift wrap and stockings.

Trump and his supporters have embraced the image of him intensely glaring into a Fulton County Jail camera since he surrendered on charges that he illegally tried to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 election.

Trump’s campaign is hardly backing away from his status, offering items emblazoned with the mug shot almost immediately after it was taken in August, with nearly daily emails offering supporters a mug, T-shirt or poster bearing the image, along with the words “Never Surrender.”

You can snag a Nikki Haley tree ornament and wrapping paper emblazoned with the hopeful’s campaign logo, or a litany of more traditional items like hats, shirts, and even “Past my prime?” drink koozies that harken back to the comment that led in part to Don Lemon being bounced from CNN.

Don’t forget Ron DeSantis’ set of golf balls whose box bares the phrase that he “has a pair” — a slight at Trump for not participating in the GOP primary debates. Or Vivek Ramaswamy’s “Nikki = Corrupt” T-shirt, the phrase the entrepreneur wrote on a notepad after a debate night tirade against Haley’s service on the board of aerospace giant Boeing Co.

Democrats are also taking advantage of the chance to pump up their sales — and the associated campaign donations that come with them. President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has a slew of the usual apparel fare. There’s also its line of “Dark Brandon” shirts, signs, mugs and even holiday gift wrap with the president’s red-eyed caricature that embraces the 2021-era “Let’s Go Brandon” phrase intended as an insult (but which Democrats have aimed to operationalize in a tongue-in-cheek battle cry).

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s store has apparel, stickers and a number of items with “No shirt, no shoes, no Secret Service,” recalling the independent candidate’s ongoing denial of federal protection despite security issues during his campaign.

You’re out of luck, though, if you’re looking for official Chris Christie or Dean Phillips merch — holiday or otherwise — although there are a number of third-party purveyors ready to hook you up with shirts, hats and even beach towels.

The Trump mug shot merch has been popping up along the campaign trail as Trump and others have been stumping across Iowa ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses.

A Christmas version features a red and white Santa hat atop Trump’s head. There’s also a mug shot Christmas stocking and with wrapping paper to match, as well as another version with the candidate pumping his fist in the air.