It’s Trump v porn star Stormy Daniels again – in the merchandise stakes
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Ms Stormy Daniels (right) claims that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, a year after he married his third wife Melania.
PHOTO: AFP
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It has been a stormy few weeks for former US president Donald Trump, who last Thursday was indicted
But there has also been a small silver lining for the 76-year-old, who is alleged to have paid the sum to porn star Stormy Daniels to avoid a scandal ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.
Trump is said to be running for the US presidency in 2024 again
The message asked people for money, offering a T-shirt with the words “I stand with Trump” for donations of US$47 or more.
His campaign team claimed they were “flying off shelves” and had raised more than US$4 million in the first 24 hours.
Ironically, Daniels, who Trump spent years battling in court, is set to duel him again – in the merchandise stakes.
The 44-year-old, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has also launched her own range of merchandise.
In a tweet on March 30 after the charges were announced, she said that orders for “#Teamstormy merch/autograph(s)” were “pouring in”, reported the BBC. “Thank you to everyone for your support and love!” she said.
Her website features a range of merchandise, including US$20 T-shirts with the words “#TEAMSTORMY”, signed posters of herself posing in lingerie, and a dog chew toy that looks like Trump.
Her tweet received more than 94,000 likes and many users replied with thank-you messages.
Daniels has 1.3 million followers on Twitter, as well as a Facebook page that has 272,000 followers.
Last week, she went on live stream on OnlyFans, a website known for its adult content, to defend herself against criticism that she was trying to profit from the scandal, according to The Independent, a British media outlet.
“Everybody that has a business sells merch,” she said, pointing out that Trump was similarly using the case to pull in funds.
“That’s actually – I can’t believe I’m about to say this – kind of brilliant,” she said. “Why is it okay for him and it’s not okay for me?”
