On July 13, 2024, the world stopped after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. We all know the story by now: the shot was misfired, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear, and he defiantly raised a fist in the air as the Secret Service ushered him to safety.
The moment, which feels destined to win a Pulitzer, was immortalized by photographer Evan Vucci. And now, wherever you look, the image is everywhere.
“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump told the New York Post. “They’re right, and I didn’t die. Usually, you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
It’s only been two days since the incident took place, and the internet is already getting weird about it.
Right-wing creators and political commentators, like Candance Owens, Dave Portnoy, and the Hodge twins, started shilling Trump t-shirts depicting that moment. Meanwhile, Wired reports that versions of the t-shirt were being sold all over TikTok Shop.
Similarly, the Independent found that Potoshirt, TeePublic, and Etsy are just some of the public online outlets that have become overrun with t-shirts of a similar nature.
High-profile creators like Jake Paul and FaZe Banks also took to social media to share endorsements of Trump. FaZe Banks, in turn, took things one step further by selling MAGA-style hats, reading: “Make FaZe Great Again.”
A coping mechanism
Needless to say, the event has had a seismic impact on internet culture. But the real takeaway is how ill-equipped we are to deal with collective traumas.
Our knee-jerk reaction is to try and be the funniest poster, to sell t-shirts, or, in the case of the Trump x Biden fandom, write dozens of erotic, angst-filled fanfiction using the shooting as a plot device. (The devil works hard, but dozens of ‘Bidump’ shippers seemingly work harder.)
All of it feels completely unbelievable, and yet bitterly unsurprising. There’s no blueprint on how to handle an event like this, but I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t involve t-shirts.
The internet has well and truly rotted our brains. But according to internet culture reporter Morgan Sung, there might be a little bit more to this particular brain rot.
“The political climate in the U.S. has been especially absurd since 2016, and the disillusionment that people have toward our government right now is manifesting in ironic T-shirts and horny Bidump fanfiction,” she said.
“It’s not exclusive to Americans, either — whenever any political event happens in another part of the world, you’re bound to find a fic about it in the political roleplaying tags on Archive of Our Own.”
Sung said she imagines these creative manifestations are lighthearted outlets for an otherwise difficult time.
“I’m sure this irreverence we have toward our political system is a coping mechanism, too. It’s a lot easier to deal with a democracy in shambles if you have a silly escape like Trump/Biden forbidden love edits to Chappell Roan songs.”
