Former President Donald Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels have spent years battling in court. Today, they are selling T-shirts depicting a duel.
A Manhattan grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Mr Trump in connection with a $130,000 (£105,000) hush money payment to Ms Daniels.
She alleges the two had an affair in 2006. Mr. Trump has confirmed the payment but denied they had sexual relations.
Soon after the allegations were publicised, his campaign sent a fundraising email.
“This witch hunt will have a HUGE REVERSE EFFECT,” he wrote in the email. “With your help, we will write the next great chapter of American history, and 2024 will go down in history as the year we saved the Republic.”
The message solicited donations and offered a “I stand with Trump” T-shirt for donations of $47 (£38) or more, which his campaign team claimed were “flying off the shelves.”
The Trump team says it raised more than $4m in the first 24 hours after word of the indictment broke.
But, the lawsuit has also benefited Ms. Daniels.
Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, tweeted on Thursday, after charges were revealed, that orders for “#Teamstormy merchandise/autographs” were “pouring in.”
“Thank you to everyone for your support and love!” she wrote.
Her website contains a selection of items, including $20 T-shirts with the phrase “#TEAMSTORMY”, signed portraits of herself posing in lingerie, and a $30 dog chew toy that looks like Mr Trump. . What transpired between Stormy Daniels and Trump?
What Trump’s indictment entails – a concise guide
Her tweet received over 94,000 likes, and scores of users sent her thank-you letters.
The porn star has over a million Twitter followers and a Facebook fan club page with over 2,000 members, many of whom are passionate Trump detractors.
According to the Independent, Ms. Daniels defended herself in a Wednesday night live stream on OnlyFans, a website known for its explicit material, against allegations that she was attempting to profit from the affair.
“Everyone with a business sells something,” she added, noting that Mr. Trump was also utilising the lawsuit to generate revenue.
She remarked, “That is actually – I can’t believe I’m about to say this – very brilliant.” “Why is it acceptable for him but not for me?”
Ms. Daniels and Mr. Trump are not the only ones profiting, though.
Friday outside the former president’s Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, souvenir merchant Ronald Solomon told Reuters that sales of Trump-themed hats and T-shirts had skyrocketed.
The money-making is reminiscent of a quote by US President Calvin Coolidge from the 1920s: “The business of the American people is business.”
