The momentum behind Vice President Kamala Harris is not only boosting the morale of Democrats across the United States ahead of the November election, but it is also benefiting those selling all kinds of political memorabilia at the party convention in Chicago.
In the corridors of the great Democratic meeting are a pair of pink sneakers with the letters K and H embroidered on them along with plastic stones and shiny sequins.
One T-shirt reads “Old Cats for Kamala,” turning a misogynistic statement made by Republican candidate Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, into a campaign slogan.
After shopping and between speeches, Democratic activists relax in a rest area called the “Coconut Tree Club,” another reference to one of the Democratic candidate’s quotes that has gone viral on social media.
That statement dates back to 2023, during a speech on equal opportunities in education: “My mother was sometimes a bit strict with us and said: ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree? ‘” said the former senator, bursting into laughter.
An image striking enough to go around the Internet and stands of the convention.
Sellers of T-shirts, posters, pens, mugs, jewelry and other trinkets, who expected a lukewarm convention when octogenarian President Joe Biden was still emerging as a candidate, are celebrating this change of strategy that benefits their businesses.
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Comparable con Barack Obama
“We can say that the excitement and enthusiasm around Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (her running mate) has nothing to do with what surrounded Joe Biden, or even Donald Trump,” says Brian Randolph, who holds a stand at the Democratic convention.
Randolph added that “you could compare him to (former President) Barack Obama, because there is the possibility of making history. People are proud” to be involved in his official nomination.
His company, based in the state of Alabama, did not start selling political paraphernalia until Kamala Harris entered the electoral race. And he considers it a winning bet.
While these products may not change the minds of Trump supporters, they could help mobilize internally within the Democratic camp.
Randolph’s company, which is following Kamala Harris’ campaign across the country, confirms a resurgence of enthusiasm… and sales.
Until recently, it was mainly among activists on the opposite side, at rallies for Republican Donald Trump, where the caps, T-shirts and suits with a 100% political tone attracted the most attention.
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At the recent Republican convention in Milwaukee, the iconic image of Trump raising his fist and bleeding from his ear following the failed assassination attempt on him in July was plastered all over T-shirts.
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