Where does the money go buying Trump merch? Is the merchandise made in the USA?

1. Where the money goes: direct revenue to Trump’s businesses and a wider marketplace

Investigations and watchdog reporting show the official Trump Store is run by the Trump Organization and has been “quietly making Trump millions,” with documented sales in the millions ^{[2] [1]}. That money flows to the private business that operates the store, not directly to a campaign or the federal government; watchdogs flagged the arrangement as an unprecedented way for supporters to funnel money to an incoming president during the transition period ^[1]. Beyond the official store, independent sellers and Amazon merchants captured large swaths of MAGA demand—Omnisend and Jungle Scout–based estimates put Amazon seller revenue in the tens of millions to low hundreds of millions during 2024, showing the brand’s broader commercial ecosystem ^{[3] [4]}.

2. Who benefits: Trump Organization, licensees, and third‑party sellers

The reporting indicates the Trump Organization benefits from store sales because the online store is operated by his private company rather than as a campaign fundraising arm; CREW’s tally and The Guardian characterize the operation as profitable for Trump personally and his family business ^{[1] [2]}. Fast Company and marketplace analyses show many other companies and merchants also profit—Amazon sellers and other vendors captured significant revenue from Trump-branded goods, meaning income accrues both to the official operation and a broad network of independent sellers ^{[3] [4]}.

3. Are the products made in the USA? The answer is mixed and murky

Multiple reports over time show Trump‑branded goods are a mix of U.S.-made items and imports; CNBC’s 2020 review found over 100 products labeled “Made in America” but also many items made abroad or with unknown origins, and earlier analyses found only a minority of products in the official shop were U.S.-made ^{[5] [6]}. Detailed audits have shown a small “Made in USA” section exists on the Trump Store, but large portions of inventory are labeled as foreign-made, “decorated in the USA,” or lack clear country-of-origin disclosures ^{[5] [6]}. Independent fact-checks dating back to 2016 noted how claims about “Made in USA” can be complicated by imported fabrics or components and by labeling conventions ^{[7] [8]}.

4. Marketing claims versus manufacturing reality: disclaimers and optics

The Trump Store and various affiliated sellers promote “Made in America” collections on their sites ^{[9] [10]}, and some third‑party stores explicitly state printing and shipping from the U.S. ^[11]. Yet earlier reporting and reviews found many items in Trump-branded assortments were produced overseas, and watchdogs cautioned that “Made in USA” badges can be limited to a subset of goods while many items remain foreign-made ^{[5] [6]}. FactCheck.org and AP reporting from earlier cycles emphasize how textile supply chains and labeling rules can make “Made in USA” claims technically true in some cases and misleading in others ^{[7] [8]}.

5. Conflicts, ethics concerns and political implications

Ethics groups raised alarms that profiting from a presidential brand while in or returning to office breaks with norms; CREW and other watchdogs highlighted the unusual scale and timing of merchandise rollouts during a presidential transition ^{[1] [2]}. OpenSecrets and other analyses emphasize that retaining private business interests while serving in public office can create appearance-of‑conflict concerns because revenues flow to privately held entities that benefit from presidential prominence ^[12].

6. What reporting does not settle (limitations and open questions)

Available sources document sales figures for particular years and platform estimates but do not provide a complete, audited profit-and-loss breakdown showing exact net proceeds to Trump or the identities and margins of every supplier; CREW, The Guardian, Fast Company and Omnisend offer strong snapshots but not full forensic accounting ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. Sources do not provide a comprehensive, current inventory-by-origin audit for every product across all sellers; earlier CNB C and Quartz analyses show substantial foreign sourcing historically but do not establish the exact present‑day percentage across the entire ecosystem ^{[5] [6]}.

Bottom line: reporting shows Trump-branded merch generates meaningful revenue that accrues to the Trump Organization and to a wide commercial network, and the goods are a mix of U.S.-made items and foreign-made products—labeling and supply-chain complexity mean many “Made in USA” claims apply to a subset of goods rather than the entire catalogue ^{[1] [2] [5] [6] [3]}.