Love him or loathe him, Donald Trump has mastered the art of the personal brand. Concocting a persona steeped in garish new money aesthetics and celeb-cum-world-leader affluence, there's one feature that sums up Trump's brand to a tee – the colour gold.
Makes sense, right? As we've learned from colour theory, gold is the ultimate symbol of wealth, power and prestige – everything that Don wants to project. However, with a constant slew of tacky merch, from custom kicks to camera phones, Trump's gold branding is starting to lose its shine, but with superfans still dazzled by each drop, I don't see an end to Don's garish branding onslaught anytime soon.
Across the years, Trump has released a slew of gold-branded items, from his 'Never Surrender' high-top sneakers to a gold 'God Bless the USA' Bible – there's even an entire Golden Age of America section on the Trump Store. The most recent offence is his new $499 gold smartphone, complete with mobile service for “real Americans” (hey, it's cheaper than the best iPhone 16 prices, so points for that at least). In time, this simple branding motif has transformed from a symbol of luxury to a beacon of patriotism – Trump's America distilled in a single colour.
Each golden merchandising opportunity typically has a novelty aspect – an unsuspecting strength that appeals to Trump's loyal followers. Creating a bastardised vision of luxury, each item is expensive enough to feel like a high-end purchase, while accessible enough to certain fans to ensure sales. Paired with a sense of exclusivity, supporters are met with an urgency to capture whatever fragment of history Trump is flogging that week, often leading to sold-out drops and ridiculous resale prices.
It's clear that Trump knows his brand, but over the years, this oversaturation of gold goodies has cheapened their appeal. It's a prime example of how an abundance of this 'luxury' aesthetic can soon become tacky, almost desperate, when garishly flogged for sales. With the rise in minimalism and quiet luxury, Trump's gold branding is an unapologetically loud rejection of branding trends – a shameless new money aesthetic that revels in its own sleaziness.
For more branding insight, check out how merch defined the 2024 presidential election. If you're after more design trends, take a look at our deep dive into anti-design, the rising trend tearing up the creative rule book.
