If you buy a MAGA hat, where does your money go? | Campaign Money

The Post's Michelle Ye Hee Lee explains how President Trump's successful merchandise sales have altered the campaign fundraising game for Republicans. Trump’s campaign said it has already sold roughly 1 million hats. He even sells merch inspired by his own tweets. When you buy Trump swag off of the campaign website, it’s a direct donation to Trump’s reelection campaign. That’s why, you have to provide the information that the law requires of political donors, like your name, occupation and address. There are only a handful of companies that produce Trump’s official merchandise. They are all U.S. based and since 2017, committees supporting Trump’s reelection have already spent millions of dollars on them. If you buy a MAGA hat on the official website for $25, you’re donating $25 Trump’s reelection committees. The committees can use part of that donation on the merchandise side, for things like manufacturing, delivery, shipping and they can use part for the campaign’s operations. We don’t know exactly what percentage of each item gets used in this way. But there are a lot of knockoffs out there that profit from selling Trump merchandise, with none of the money going to his official campaign. That includes companies in China making knockoff Trump swag. There are lots of vendors selling unofficial merchandise on the streets and online, especially on Facebook. So, if you want to buy swag to support the president, just watch out for those vendors. Read moreSubscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube