President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is offering onesies on its website with script patterned after the “Black Lives Matter” movement logo but replaced with the text “Baby Lives Matter.”
The limited edition items, which can be purchased for $18, are all white with red lettering.
Trump was the first president to speak at the annual March for Life event in Washington, D.C., in January. A campaign spokesperson declined to comment on the sale of the onesies, according to CNN, but confirmed they were offered in conjunction with the March for Life.
The Black Lives Matter movement emerged amid anger over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.
As a slogan, “Black lives matter” soon became as widely heard at protests as “No justice, no peace.” Nationally, the phrase was praised for its clarity and attacked as strident and hostile toward police.
But support grew as the list of slain black people got longer: Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile.
In 2018, news reports revealed the FBI’s counterterrorism division had begun tracking anti-police threats from black activists in the wake of deadly ambushes on police officers in New York, Texas and Louisiana.
Today, the Black Lives Matter movement boasts a following of millions across social media platforms. A coalition known as the Movement for Black Lives, formed in 2014, now includes more than 150 affiliate organizations that have organized around such causes as defunding police departments and reinvesting in struggling black communities.
Trump has resumed in-person fundraising events after a three-month hiatus as his campaign works to maintain a cash advantage over Democrat Joe Biden that it believes is vital to victory in November.
Trump was in Dallas on Thursday to raise more than $10 million for his campaign and the Republican Party, according to a GOP official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plan. He will hold another event Saturday at his private golf course in New Jersey.
The moves come at a critical moment in the campaign. Trump’s reelection plans have been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, a severe economic recession and weeks of nationwide protests over racial injustice. That has added to a sense of urgency to build on the more than $250 million Trump already has in the bank to overcome stiff headwinds.
Trump is also planning to hold his first rally of the coronavirus era on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And he says he's planning more events in Florida, Texas and Arizona as well. Trump made the announcement as he met with a handful of African American supporters Wednesday afternoon for a roundtable discussion.
Trump’s signature rallies often draw tens of thousands of people but have been on hiatus since March 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 110,000 people in the U.S.
The Tulsa rally will take place on Juneteenth, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
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