RNS: Hours after US President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania, Chinese online markets have been inundated with T-shirts bearing his defiant image. The photo of Trump, fist raised, inspired Chinese entrepreneurs to swiftly produce and sell T-shirts featuring the picture.
The first batch of T-shirts hit Taobao, a popular Chinese e-commerce platform, at 8:40 PM, well before most governments had issued a response, according to the South China Morning Post. By the time the news spread worldwide and Chinese citizens were starting their day, the T-shirts were already available for purchase.
“We listed the T-shirts on Taobao as soon as we saw the news about the shooting, even before printing them. Within three hours, we received over 2,000 orders from both China and the US,” said Li Jinwei, a 25-year-old Taobao seller, in an interview with the newspaper.
Li’s factory, located in Hebei province, can download an image and produce a T-shirt in about one minute, the report stated.
Former US President Donald Trump suffered injuries to his right ear during the Saturday campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in what is being investigated as an assassination attempt. The 78-year-old Republican candidate’s face was bloodied as security agents rushed him off the stage. Despite the chaos, Trump pumped his fist in the air and mouthed the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The shooter and a bystander were killed during the incident. Trump, six minutes into his speech, was seen holding his right ear, with blood on his cheek and mouth. Two other spectators were also injured, according to a Secret Service statement.
Secret Service agents quickly surrounded Trump and escorted him off the stage, as he raised his fist in defiance to the crowd.