On Monday’s CNN NewsNight, MAGA messenger Batya Ungar-Sargon made a comment that's been called out-of-touch, classist, and completely inaccurate.
The roundtable style program was discussing the Trump administration's tariffs. On April 30, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump said himself that his tariffs meant children will probably have fewer toys.
The switch from Trump's presidential campaign's prosperity rhetoric has been replaced with tales of the virtues of austerity. MAGA minions like Ungar-Sargon are now parroting that message in mainstream and social media.
In Monday’s discussion on CNN, the ardent Trump supporter even repeated Trump's message about "two dolls instead of 30 dolls."
You can see the clip here:
Ungar-Sargon said:
"You know what? This is kind of making me think a lot about—is the fact that every rich person I know, their daughter has 2 or 3 dolls, maybe a couple American Girl dolls, 2 or 3 expensive, nice dolls, and no crap from China."
"But if you go into a broke person‘s house, that floor is littered with broken toys from the dollar store."
Newsnight host Abby Phillip responded:
"So now we‘re shaming people?"
Fellow panelist Jason Carter quipped:
"Barbie-shaming."
A new American Girl doll retails around $125. Some stripped-down models sell for around $90, while custom ones—where the buyer chooses the doll's appearance to match the child getting the doll—are over $300.
Ungar-Sargon added Trump's tariffs on toys would give poorer consumers the "opportunity" to purchase the quality items the rich usually buy.
Phillip countered Ungar-Sargon's commentary, stating:
"People who really don’t have a lot of money, here’s what they’re really thinking. They’re not thinking, 'I want to buy the most expensive doll for my child'."
"They’re thinking, 'I want to buy a doll for my child so that I can also afford food. I can also afford clothes. I can also afford to send them to school'."
“So the idea that the whole thing is about buying more and more expensive goods, that seems to completely miss the point about what’s happening in terms of people who are actually struggling in this country."
A fact check on Ungar-Sargon's "made in the USA" claim was also required and social media was happy to provide one.
It turns out, American Girl dolls are manufactured where most of the MAGA merch is made: China.
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American Girl dolls don't appear to have ever been made in the USA.
The company headquarters was in Wisconsin at one time, but production was originally based in Germany. Manufacturing was moved to China after Mattel purchased the American Girl doll company—originally the Pleasant Company—in 1998.
Mattel—the company built by Barbie dolls—announced Monday it would have to raise prices on its products due to Trump’s tariffs.
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