What Happened When Amazon Got Caught Selling T-Shirts That Call for Donald Trump's Death?

We live in an age that’s amazing for capitalism because anyone with the talent and equipment to make and sell clothing, toys, and other items can do so pretty easily on the web. And Amazon plays home to so many of these items.

The problem is that some items on Amazon shouldn’t be there. Specifically, I’m talking about an array of shirts that call for the death of Donald Trump. I found out about one this week that reads, “THE ONLY GOOD TRUMP IS A DEAD ONE.”

As you can see from the listing, you could order it in a variety of fashion colors or fabrics. It would have been the perfect item for the Trump-hater on your list. There are also some more general anti-Trump shirts on the site, some of which attempt to be funny.

I searched for “Dead Biden T-shirt” and “Dead Kamala T-shirt,” and while I found a few anti-Biden and anti-Harris shirts, I didn’t see any calling for the death of the president or vice president. There are also some genuinely annoying pro-Kamala shirts on the site, none of which were funny.

With trepidation, I searched Google for “Is it a crime to call for the death of a former president” — after all, these are the kinds of searches that land people on lists. Federal statute 18 U.S. Code § 879:

…prohibits knowing and willful threats to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm against the following categories of persons who are protected by the United States Secret Service:
Members of the immediate family of the President;
Members of the immediate family of the Vice President;
Former Presidents;
Members of the immediate family of a former President;
Major candidates for the Office of President and Vice President;
Spouses of major candidates for the Office of President and Vice President within 120 days of the general Presidential election; and
Immediate families of the President-elect and Vice President-elect.

And 18 U.S. Code § 871 — Threats against President and successors to the Presidency — states:

Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

However, it’s a stretch to think that ordering, mailing, or wearing shirts calling for a “dead Trump” constitutes a threat. Still, inquiring minds wanted to know why Amazon would allow these on the site.

Hey @amazon, why do you allow shirts that call for the death of Donald Trump? You should be ashamed to allow apparel like this on your site. https://t.co/V2h5b1QDUK pic.twitter.com/xe1ZyHUNyu
— Chris Queen (@ChrisQueen) July 25, 2024

I reached out to Amazon’s public relations department, but I didn't hear anything from them. However, I checked the listing this morning and saw this instead:

Who's a good girl, Mae? Sorry, I got distracted.

I didn't see the other handful of "Dead Trump" shirts on a quick search, either. This is good news because if “political violence” is unacceptable, as even Democrats claim it is, then shirts calling for it on a T-shirt should be equally unacceptable.

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