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The fallout from the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally this weekend is seeping into even the most tangential circles \u2014 in this case, the print-on-demand custom sticker industry. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This week Sticker Mule, a popular option for companies, creators, event organizers, and others wanting branded merchandise, shared a long message expressing support for Trump. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cPeople are terrified to admit they support Trump. I\u2019ve been scared myself, cofounder Anthony Constantino wrote in a post on the social media platform X. \u201cThe more people realize that kind-hearted, compassionate people support Trump, the sooner the hate will end.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The company also sent an email<\/a> and text message<\/a> to customers containing much of the same language \u2014 but didn\u2019t miss a chance to promote its products, plugging a sale it\u2019s running on shirts this week. Sticker Mule didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Customers did not like that, to put it lightly. Many have vowed to stop ordering stickers<\/a> from the company; others questioned why Constantino thought it appropriate to blast his customer email list with political endorsements. But the Far Right has embraced Sticker Mule \u2014 and this isn\u2019t the first time the company has tried to lean into politics for online engagement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For the last couple years, the Sticker Mule has shared a steady stream of posts on X aligned with the Right, though none as plainly political as endorsing a Far Right candidate on the official company account. In 2022, the company was<\/a> deep<\/a> in<\/a> the release of the so-called Twitter Files, a series of select internal documents that Elon Musk gave right-wing pundits access to. The Twitter Files saga led to sustained and intense harassment<\/a> of former Twitter employees, including Yoel Roth, former head of trust and safety \u2014 whom Sticker Mule also went after.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The company has also regularly posted in support of Musk, retweeting his posts and thanking him for fixing hate on the platform<\/a> (reports indicate hate speech has soared on X<\/a> since Musk\u2019s takeover). Not to miss an opportunity to profit, Sticker Mule gloated on X of its boost in sales following pro-Musk posts: \u201cOur gift to everyone is to show that Internet haters are totally powerless. Don\u2019t fear them, live happy! Our sales exploded after we got attacked for praising ELON MUSK,\u201d the company posted in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Which is all to say that though the Trump endorsement seems random and sudden, it\u2019s actually the oldest trick in the book<\/a> for companies wanting to drum up business and loyalty from a specific audience. Much of the anger directed at Sticker Mule questioned why the company would torch a portion of its business to make a political statement. But it\u2019s actually the opposite: Sticker Mule, like many other companies<\/a>, has been chasing the money all along. It\u2019s not yet clear whether this time will be any different. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n