President Donald Trump has turned his latest Cabinet meeting into a merchandising opportunity to line his pockets.
After canceling plans to head to Camp David for private talks with his team, Trump instead convened his cabinet at the White House on Wednesday, where new “USA 250 Anniversary” hats were displayed prominently in front of senior officials around the table as cameras rolled.
Perhaps the only surprise was that he did not make his cabinet wear them.
The caps generally retail for $55 on the online store for the Trump Organization - the empire that benefits the president and his family - alongside mugs, sweaters, and necklaces. There’s even an “age reversal kit” on the website selling for $125.
But the visual display of Trump-branded merchandise inside an official government setting is likely to renew criticism from ethics watchdogs, who have long accused the president of leveraging public office for private gain.
According to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Trump Store had launched 622 new products in the first fourteen months of the president’s second term.
Trump’s financial records also show that in 2024, the Trump Organization store also brought in approximately $8.8 million, more than double the amount the store made in 2023—and more than 17 times the amount it made in its first full year of operation.
“This is an unprecedented level of monetization of the presidency, even by the standards of Trump’s own first term,” the group wrote.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Cabinet meeting came as Trump sought to project confidence about negotiations surrounding the Iran war, which is now in its 12th week.
“I think they’re starting to give us the things that they have to give us,” Trump claimed, without going into details.
“And if they do, that’s great, and if they won’t, then the man on my left will have to finish them off,” he added, gesturing to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who he said “loves” war.
During the meeting, Trump also talked up preparations for America’s birthday celebrations next month, which include revamping the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, surging National Guards over the summer, and enhancing the grass around Washington.
“Like people, grass has a life too,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The America 250 caps on display during the meeting featured an image of the Mount Rushmore, an American bald eagle, and the U.S. flag. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seated next to the president, was photographed with a signed version.
But the new merchandise is not the only thing that has come under scrutiny in recent months. Critics have also pointed to Trump-linked crypto ventures, licensing deals, branded Bibles, sneakers and NFT collections as examples of the president profiting from his political image while in office.
Supporters, on the other hand, argue Trump is simply capitalizing on intense public demand for his brand and memorabilia.
Asked this month if the president was using the Oval Office to enrich himself, Vice President JD Vance took offense to the question, which came after new filings showed heavy stock trading in Trump’s latest financial disclosures.
According to the filings, Trump made more than 3,700 transactions, including securities of companies that he had talked up at events and in social media posts.
However, Vance told reporters in the briefing room: “The president doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his, like, Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks.”
“That’s absurd. He has independent wealth advisors who manage his money. He is a wealthy person. He has had success in business. He’s not making these stock trades himself. And your question implies that.”
