As we cross the halfway point of Donald Trump's presidency, you've probably picked up on the First Law of Trumpodynamics: For every Trump action, there is an Trump tweet criticizing that action.
For example, after winning the 2016 election, Trump tweeted, "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!" However, after Barack Obama won the 2012 election, he tweeted, "We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!"
Trump's hypocrisy drives many people crazy, but one man felt inspired to create a thought-provoking, hilarious product. Sam Morrison, a Los Angeles-based photographer and artist, made physical flip flops that feature Trump's contradictory tweets. There are three designs:
Syria EditionTrump implored "foolish" President Obama not to attack Syria in 2013, then he attacked Syria in 2017.
Electoral CollegeAfter President Barack Obama was elected in 2012, Trump called the electoral college a "disaster for democracy." Four years later, he won the presidential election, and praised the system as "actually genius" in 2016. (Probably because, unlike Obama, he lost the popular vote by three million votes. Without an electoral college, there would be no President Trump.)
SourcesTrump falsely claimed President Obama's birth certificate was fake in 2012, citing an "extremely credible source." However, in 2016, he urged people not to believe anyone who cites unnamed sources.
Morrison began selling the flip flops on his website, PresidentFlipFlops.com, in September 2017. There five available sizes, with a price of around $30, and he sold out within less than a month. He went to create 1,000 pairs, sourcing his own materials and doing all of the printing and packaging by hand. "I wanted to highlight this hypocrisy," he told Business Insider.
"The minimum order of raw materials was 1,000 pairs, and took two months to ship to me. I hand-printed all 1,000 pairs with a heat press, packaged, and shipped everything myself, so it was a very time-intensive project," Morrison explained. He added that 10% of every purchase was donated to the ACLU.
The 27-year-old could not afford a marketing budget, but luckily there was no need. He received the best marketing possible when his designs went viral. Major news outlets such as MSNBC, the BBC and The Huffington Post covered the shoes, and they also received a lot of attention on Twitter and Reddit.
If you're hoping to buy a pair, bad news: Morrison says President Flip Flops are "permanently sold out," due to the complex production process, and the effort required to produce and ship the shoes while working his full-time job in the advertising industry.
However, President Flip Flops were obviously a huge hit, as Morrison sold pairs to people in 47 states. And there's no shortage of Trump twitter contradictions for inspiration. In fact, there's a whole subreddit dedicated to the phenomenon, called Trump Criticizes Trump.
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