'It's not a cult': Trump slammed for selling 'gross' t-shirts calling him 'daddy'

Image via lev radin/Shutterstock.
President Donald Trump’s official website has begun offering a “Trump Daddy” t-shirt for sale — just one day after NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte referred to him using that nickname.
A post from "Trump War Room," an official account on the social platform X affiliated with the president, shared a link to purchase the t-shirt.
"These are going to sell out fast," read the ad on the website. "Claim your t-shirt today."
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The shirt is being sold for $35, with additional price tiers available to encourage contributions to Trump’s team.
Social media users criticized the Trump team's use of the nickname to make money.
Writer Kimerley Ross, reacting to the post from Trump War Room, wrote on the social platform X: “I’ll never understand politician worship. It’s always gross.”
Sky News journalist Deborah Haynes wrote: “Well, that didn’t take long.”
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Election data analyst Philip Germain said: “Grown men wearing Trump 'DADDY' shirts to own the Libs.”
Editor Dan Shafer reacted to the post by sharing a statement from Minnesota Gov Tim Walz (D) who once said of Republicans: "I’m telling you: these guys are weird.”
“It’s not a cult but his voters are the ONLY voters in U.S. history to refer to a sitting president as “daddy”. Ok,” wrote a user.
On Wednesday, Trump’s official social media channels shared a video featuring musician Usher’s track, "Daddy's Home" along with a montage of Trump at the recent NATO summit.
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A montage capturing Trump at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands was uploaded to both the @whitehouse and @potus Instagram accounts. The post was captioned: "Daddy’s home… Hey, hey, hey, Daddy."
That caption echoes lines from Usher’s 2009 hit on the Raymond v. Raymond album: "When I walk in, all that I wanna hear is you say, 'Daddy's home, home for me." The montage is set to the song over footage of Trump at the summit.
After his comments raised eyebrows Wednesday, the NATO secretary-general explained his remarks in which he appeared to refer to Trump as “daddy." He told reporters it was meant as a joke — not a serious label.
“The daddy thing, I didn’t call him ‘daddy.'"
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He clarified: “What I said is that sometimes, in Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, ‘Hey, Mark, will the U.S. stay with us?’ And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, ‘Hey, are you still staying with the family?’ So in that sense, I used ‘daddy’ — not that I was calling President Trump daddy.”
Rutte’s comment referring to Trump drew jokes and some raised eyebrows after he said, “Sometimes, daddy needs to use strong language,” in reference to the president’s use of profanity to scold Israel and Iran during their military standoff.