A new video has been posted on the YouTube account for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, one in which happy citizens thank the president for the opportunity to make coins with his face on them.
Let that sink in.
The video opens with a clip from Trump's June announcement that he would "expand apprenticeships and vocational training." Although the executive order is described as intended to help Americans develop fruitful careers about which they can be passionate, the video soon makes it clear that the ad isn't promoting run-of-the-mill jobs — it is specifically showing ordinary citizens manufacturing "Make America Great Again" coins.
With Trump's face engraved into the front and an American flag on the back, the coins can be purchased online from the Trump re-election campaign store for $45.
One apprentice at Medalcraft Mint, which manufactures the coins, tells the camera that the apprenticeship "will allow me to advance at Medalcraft which, in part, is gonna help me make America great again."
Although some brief lip service is paid to plumbers and other occupations unrelated to creating Trump-branded merchandise, the majority of the video shows off either the coins being made or people talking about the honor of being able to make them. One man tells the camera that he takes pride in the fact that the coins are made in the United States and sold in the United States. A woman says that working for the company is "kind of like living the dream."
It seems like Medalcraft Mint's decision to work with the president — who has ostensibly separated himself from his business empire — has paid off for them, at least when it comes to garnering publicity.
While Trump's campaign can claim that his products are made in the U.S., the same can't be said for his company's merchandise.
By Matthew Rozsa
Matthew Rozsa is a professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012, was a guest on Fox Business in 2019, repeatedly warned of Trump's impending refusal to concede during the 2020 election, spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California in 2021, was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022 and appeared on NPR in 2023. His diverse interests are reflected in his interviews including: President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999-2001), animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (1997-2001), director Jason Reitman ("The Front Runner"), inventor Ernő Rubik, comedian Bill Burr ("F Is for Family"), novelist James Patterson ("The President's Daughter"), epidemiologist Monica Gandhi, theoretical cosmologist Janna Levin, voice actor Rob Paulsen ("Animaniacs"), mRNA vaccine pioneer Katalin Karikó, philosopher of science Vinciane Despret, actor George Takei ("Star Trek"), climatologist Michael E. Mann, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (2013-present), dog cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson (2012, 2016), comedian and writer Larry Charles ("Seinfeld"), seismologist John Vidale, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman (2000), Ambassador Michael McFaul (2012-2014), economist Richard Wolff, director Kevin Greutert ("Saw VI"), model Liskula Cohen, actor Rodger Bumpass ("SpongeBob Squarepants"), Senator John Hickenlooper (2021-present), Senator Martin Heinrich (2013-present), Egyptologist Richard Parkinson, Rep. Eric Swalwell (2013-present), Fox News host Tucker Carlson, actor R. J. Mitte ("Breaking Bad"), theoretical physicist Avi Loeb, biologist and genomics entrepreneur William Haseltine, comedian David Cross ("Scary Movie 2"), linguistics consultant Paul Frommer ("Avatar"), Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (2007-2015), computer engineer and Internet co-inventor Leonard Kleinrock and right-wing insurrectionist Roger Stone.
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