These Hillary fans are suddenly thrilled with the Trump bump
Street vendors selling anti-Trump buttons stand on Fifth Avenue near Trump Tower.
Tamara Beckwith
While campaigning to be president of the United States, Donald Trump promised to create jobs. But this is probably not what he had in mind.
Liberal New Yorkers are making bank selling anti-Trump merchandise at protests. And they’re suddenly not as upset over Hillary Clinton’s loss.
“I voted for Hillary, but I’m almost happy that Trump won,” said Manhattanite Paul Rossen, 55. “It’s given me a new economic opportunity.”
Rossen is a player in the city’s new protest economy — one of several vendors who show up at marches and demonstrations hawking hats, shirts, flags and other resistance-chic accoutrements. He even sells his self-made buttons, which depict the president as a pile of feces and Adolf Hitler, on Fifth Avenue across from Trump Tower.
And it can be a lucrative hustle. Rossen said he has grossed $1,000 during a single day. He began selling the buttons before the election and admitted, “I thought it would end once Hillary won.”
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John Carney uses Photoshop to create high-concept anti-Trump buttons, and sells them for $5 each.
Stefano Giovannini
Also reaping the benefits of the Trump administration is John Carney, 59, of Manhattan. An out-of-work media consultant, he makes ends meet by engaging in what he calls “entrepreneurial activism.” Carney uses Photoshop and the Face Swap app to create high-concept anti-Trump buttons. One, riffing on a Stalin-era Soviet propaganda poster, shows Trump as a baby being hoisted up by Vladimir Putin.
Generally, the merchants spend about 50 cents per button — then sell them for $5 a pop.
“There’s nothing wrong with capitalism,” said Rossen.
And he’s not above selling his soul, should the opportunity arise: “If Trump’s supporters wanted to buy buttons favoring him, I would sell those.”
I can see these selling like hot cakes!
Job creation!
There you go, people actually using their imagination to better their own situation. Nothing wrong with that.