Portside

Donald Trump has declared this week “Made in America” week. According to the White House, it’s an opportunity for the president to showcase “products that are made in America”.

Unfortunately for Trump, that description would rule out many of the products he and members of his family have made and sold. From Donald J Trump Collection clothing to Trump Vodka to Trump: the Game, the president has a track record of not making things in America.

The week was scheduled to kick off at the White House on Monday, with Trump walking around some tables looking at products made in all 50 states. So in honour of the president’s communist-dictator-esque photo opportunity, here’s a look at some not-made-in-America Trump gear.

Donald Trump has declared this week “Made in America” week. According to the White House, it’s an opportunity for the president to showcase “products that are made in America”.

Alcohol

Trump Vodka (“The finish is disappointingly harsh” – InternetWines.com) was an ill-fated attempt by Trump to branch into the spirits world. The vodka (“No discernable flavor” – Chicagoist) was manufactured in the Netherlands by a company called Wanders Distillery and launched in the US in 2006.

But the beverage (“My taste buds unfortunately associate the flavor with the smell of paint” – VodkaBuzz) failed to sell. The trademark was abandoned in 2008, according to Rolling Stone. By 2011, Trump Vodka was “out of circulation”.

Clothing

“We don’t need Chinese products,” Trump told Fox News in 2010. “The stuff that’s been sent over from China is – it falls apart after a year and a half. It’s crap.”

It was an odd thing to say for a self-described master businessman offering to the American public many menswear products – featured in the Donald J Trump Signature Collection – that were made in China.

Donald J Trump eyeglasses were made in China. Donald Trump’s ties were made in China. Some of the Donald J Trump suits were made in China.

To be fair, Trump is an equal opportunity overseas manufacturer. His dress shirts have been manufactured in Bangladesh, Honduras and Vietnam. And China.

It turned out Trump was right about people not needing Chinese products. In 2015, the Donald J Trump Signature Collection was jettisoned by Macy’s. His famous red hats, meanwhile, actually are made in the US. It’s the unofficial ones that aren’t.

Education

But the university, which was not actually an accredited university, encouraged students to outsource jobs overseas.

“We hear terrible things about outsourcing jobs – how sending work outside of our companies is contributing to the demise of American businesses,” Trump wrote on the Trump University blog in 2005. “But in this instance I have to take the unpopular stance that it is not always a terrible thing.”

In November 2016, Trump settled three fraud lawsuits relating to the university for $25m.

Homeware

“Several Trump Home items are listed as made in China or imported from China,” the Washington Post reported in 2016.

According to the Post, foreign-made items in Trump’s furniture collection include mirrors, ceramic vases, wall decorations, kitchen items and lighting fixtures. They were all made in China. Some Trump Home picture frames were manufactured in India.

Earlier this year, Peter York, who wrote a 2006 book about the homes of autocrats, including Saddam Hussein and Nicolae Ceaușescu, wrote about the similarities between their tastes and Trump’s interior decor preferences.

“The best aesthetic descriptor of Trump’s look, I’d argue, is dictator style,” York said.

Board games

Trump: the Game (“I loathed every miserable second of it” – Ars Technica) was launched in 1989, then pushed out again in 2004 after Trump became host of The Apprentice.

The game (“Bizarre” – Business Insider) was manufactured in the US by Milton Bradley Company. But the dice, according to this photo of the Trump: the Game packaging, were made in China.

It is difficult to tell if the dice were “crap” and fell apart after a year and a half, because Trump: the Game sold poorly. In 2011, Time magazine listed the game as one of Trump’s top 10 business failures.

Ivanka Trump clothing

It’s not just Donald Trump who has a track record of overseas manufacturing. In December, the New York Times, citing two trade databases, reported that “almost all” of Ivanka Trump’s clothing line is made overseas.

In May, New York-based activists were arrested in China while investigating the making of Ivanka Trump shoes. In July, the Washington Post traced Ivanka Trump products to Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

More than 20 stores have dropped Ivanka Trump’s products since her father started his run for president.