Trump State Fair Sells $35 Freedom 250 Gear Without His Image

Q: Why is the President's image on commemorative coins but absent from merchandise at the national fair?

The difference appears to be branding and approval, not a general rule against using the president’s likeness. At the Great American State Fair, the official merchandise was branded around the event itself and its organizer, Freedom 250, rather than around President Donald Trump personally. USA TODAY reported that the shirts, hats and bags on sale at the fair featured the Freedom 250 logo, national landmarks and general patriotic imagery. Trump-branded items were sold at his June 24 opening rally, but those were separate from the fair’s official retail offerings and were not available at the fair booths later. The commemorative coins are different because they are official anniversary items that went through a formal federal design process. Trump’s portrait was approved for commemorative coin designs by the Commission of Fine Arts, and supporters of the design argued it was appropriate to depict the sitting president overseeing the 250th anniversary year. In other words, the coins were conceived as presidentially themed commemoratives, while the fair’s merchandise was presented as event-themed merchandise. There is no public explanation in the reporting that says the fair was barred from using Trump’s image. The available evidence instead suggests a deliberate distinction: official fair merchandise emphasized the broader Freedom 250 identity, while Trump’s image was reserved for separate rally merchandise and selected commemorative items such as coins and special passports.

Q: What legal changes are needed for a living person to appear on U.S. currency for the first time?

A living person cannot appear on U.S. paper money unless Congress changes federal law. The key barrier is 31 U.S.C. § 5114(b), which says only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on U.S. currency and securities. To permit a living person, Congress would have to amend or repeal that provision, pass the bill through both chambers, and have it signed into law. If the proposal involves a new note such as a $250 bill, Congress would also need to authorize that denomination. Treasury cannot simply create a new banknote on its own if it is not already provided for under federal law governing U.S. notes. That is why a Treasury mock-up of a $250 note with President Donald Trump’s portrait does not by itself make the bill legally possible. Without statutory changes, it remains only a concept. The legal situation is somewhat different for coins. Historical practice has allowed limited exceptions involving living people on commemorative coinage, and Trump’s portrait has reportedly been approved for commemorative coin items tied to the 250th anniversary. But for paper currency, the deceased-person rule is explicit, and changing it would require an act of Congress.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 30

$35 T-shirts and caps at the Great American State Fair featured Freedom 250 branding rather than Donald Trump’s image, with official merchandise centered on the U.S. 250th-anniversary event.
A $200 “America 26” sports jersey was the priciest item, but a worker said only one had sold; boxes of unsold stock were visible even as staff described sales as steady.
Trump-branded rally items were sold at the fair’s June 24 opening event — including a $35 “America Is Back” shirt and a $40 hat — but were no longer available when USA TODAY visited on June 30.
The branding split comes as Trump’s likeness is being pushed onto other anniversary memorabilia, including about 40,000 limited-edition passports due from July 6 and proposed commemorative coins.