In some ways, President Donald Trump’s Wednesday Cabinet meeting was typical — officials took turns praising the president.
The New York Times reported that it had “reviewed over a dozen hours of cabinet meeting footage to analyze how his administration spoke to him. On average, at least one of every six sentences either flattered Mr. Trump, gave him credit or criticized his political opponents.”
But Wednesday’s meeting had one important difference: Trump promoted a new Trump hat that retails for $55 on the Trump Store. The hats were “displayed prominently in front of senior officials around the table as cameras rolled,” according to The Daily Beast.
“President Donald Trump has turned his latest Cabinet meeting into a merchandising opportunity to line his pockets,” The Daily Beast reported, noting that “new ‘USA 250 Anniversary’ hats were displayed prominently in front of senior officials around the table as cameras rolled.”
New York Post White House correspondent Emily Goodin on social media noted that there was “new merch” at the meeting. “Each cabinet member has one of these hats and a challenge coin.”
Fox Business White House correspondent Edward Lawrence reported that Trump had signed some of the hats.
CNN’s DJ Judd added that the “new USA 250 hat is for sale on the Trump org website and can be yours for $55 plus shipping.”
President Trump’s online store has added more than 600 new products since he returned to office in January 2025.
Government ethics watchdogs “who have long accused the president of leveraging public office for private gain,” are likely to criticize this latest effort to monetize his presidency, The Daily Beast added.
Pointing to the 622 new products being sold on the Trump Store, the “official retail website of The Trump Organization,” CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called it “an unprecedented level of monetization of the presidency, even by the standards of Trump’s own first term.”