If you've been anywhere near the internet lately, you've likely seen former Republican President Donald Trump's eerily and uncannily Third Reich-esque new proposed line of merch.
The designs are so blatantly Hitlerian they seem more like a gag from an episode of South Park than something a former President would shill to his supporters.
But if you're having trouble believing they're real, Star Wars icon Mark Hamill is here to help. Luke Skywalker himself mocked Trump on Twitter with a perfectly on-point primer on how to tell if Trump's new swag is legit or not, and fans are loving it.
It's not an OFFICIAL Former Guy item unless it contains at least one misspelling and/or Third Reich imagery. This i… https://t.co/O1pvxxBdET— Mark Hamill (@Mark Hamill) 1628274322.0
Sharing two of Trump's proposed merch images, Hamill tweeted:
"It's not an OFFICIAL Former Guy item unless it contains at least one misspelling and/or Third Reich imagery. This is obviously OFFICAL."
These new proposed designs definitely fit the bill.
Aside from the obvious Nazi-esque designs, Hamill's typo wasn't just a gaff on his part—it comes directly from the merch itself, as you can see in his tweet.
So it's settled--these are, in fact, "OFFICAL."
The images came from a recent fundraising email from Trump's Save America Political Action Committee, which bills itself as a fund to further Trump's conservative legislative legacy, but is almost certainly his 2024 campaign fund (if not, you know, an outright grift to pay his legal fees like several of his previous fundraising efforts).
In the email, Trump presented four designs for "Official Trump Cards"—a membership card of sorts that people can carry with them at all times for some reason—and asked them to choose which design they liked best. For a $50 donation, supporters will then receive their Official—or Offical, as it were—Trump Card.
What supporters actually receive with their chillingly cultic Trump membership other than a farcically on-the-nose tribute to Nazism is unknown. But what is known is that there isn't a proofreader on staff at Save America PAC to review these "Offical" Trump Cards.
On Twitter, people loved Hamill's subtle drag of this latest Trump grift.
@HamillHimself I fixed it. https://t.co/lnlDsyL1th— Joel Montfort 🌊 (@Joel Montfort 🌊) 1628274980.0
@HamillHimself Totally doesn’t give off these vibes hahaha https://t.co/qbBNKOBZhy— 𝕰𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖓 (@𝕰𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖓) 1628274475.0
@HamillHimself Makes you wonder what hell he’d have visited on the US if by some twist of fate he’d got elected?— Calimocho 🏴🌼🐉 (@Calimocho 🏴🌼🐉) 1628274455.0
@HamillHimself If they get an official Trump card, I want a Race card.— Patrick Solomon (@Patrick Solomon) 1628274512.0
@HamillHimself This one is truley “offical.” https://t.co/8cAGQh8LlW— Tony (@Tony) 1628281229.0
@HamillHimself Shoulda used this one https://t.co/6fM3oDzBj6— Tracy+ (@Tracy+) 1628274394.0
@HamillHimself The OFFICIAL former squatter's membership card https://t.co/9L0ivp5sKn— 🌊 IlliniOrange86 🌊 🏀🏈🧩🐈🎸🌈🌊🌊 (@🌊 IlliniOrange86 🌊 🏀🏈🧩🐈🎸🌈🌊🌊) 1628360987.0
@HamillHimself The card entitles you to an exclusive entrance here. https://t.co/roVmHRl3qc— real mallard (@real mallard) 1628281598.0
but, but, but vaccine cards . . . 😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/zYVSwLLhGP— 🌊Oh, for F'ks - is he dead yet? ❤ ✌ 😊 (@🌊Oh, for F'ks - is he dead yet? ❤ ✌ 😊) 1628275433.0
Plus it's made in China, that's how you know it's legit! https://t.co/vorqWmrMw1— 𝙾𝚕𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚗 𝙶𝚊𝚛𝚢 (@𝙾𝚕𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚗 𝙶𝚊𝚛𝚢) 1628340420.0
As many have pointed out online, the color scheme and design of Trump's "Offical" cards originally derive from the Roman Empire.
Those designs were in turn co-opted by both the Third Reich during Hitler's reign and later the Soviet Union. They have been associated with Nazism and communism ever since.