Chinese e-commerce sites have removed t-shirts with a picture of Donald Trump fist-pumping in the air just after he was shot.
Within hours after the shooting, the T-shirts were for sale on well-known e-commerce platforms including Taobao and JD.com.
The Chinese internet is strictly regulated, and anything deemed “sensitive” is frequently removed. The reason behind the listings’ removal is unknown.
The attempted murder that occurred at a protest in Pennsylvania on Saturday generated a lot of conversation online, with Weibo, a social media site similar to X, seeing a spike in trending topics.
In less than three hours following the shooting, the first batch of T-shirts were made and put up for sale online by enterprising Chinese retailers.
One of the biggest e-commerce sites in China, Taobao, has a cached image of the T-shirt that lists the pricing as 39 yuan ($9; £7).
Three hours after she listed the T-shirts for sale, a 25-year-old Taobao vendor informed the South China Morning Post that she had gotten more than 2,000 orders. The majority were US and Chinese.
For years, Trump has been the focus of Chinese internet interest, both favorably and unfavorably.
During his administration, Trump engaged in a trade battle with Beijing that infuriated the Chinese government and many Chinese citizens, but it also garnered some support. Among these was a group of Chinese immigrants living in the US who have been translating all of Trump’s tweets via the X account @Trump_Chinese. Since its September 2018 launch, the account has gained over 344,000 followers.
A well-known internet joke also makes fun of Chuan, the Chinese character for Trump. Chuan Jianguo, which roughly translates to “Trump – our nation builder,” is a term used to make fun of him and his perceived contribution to China’s rise to prominence.
For years now, Chinese businesspeople have profited from their interest in him.
After the massacre, T-shirt listings showing Trump were removed from Chinese websites, but Chinese online sellers are still selling a variety of Trump memorabilia, including red hats with his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” and socks and mugs displaying his caricature.
Global retailers have profited from the assassination attempt as well.
Similar T-shirts have been spotted for sale on the well-known Southeast Asian e-commerce sites Lazada and Shopee.
Alibaba Group, a major player in Chinese technology, also controls Taobao and Lazada.
Similar T-shirts are also seen in US stores in photos found on the internet. Some had subtitles put to them; “Bullet Proof” and “Leaders Never Die” were two examples.
