As Donald Trump’s rise was accompanied by branded merchandise – steaks, ties, boxers and red Maga hats – so his descent may come to be known by the stickers, shirts and hoodies now being sold by an obscure Pennsylvanian landscaping company that wound up playing a comic and widely celebrated role in the final throes of the president’s re-election campaign.
Four Seasons Total Landscaping – a Philadelphia groundskeeping company situated between a crematorium and a sex shop where on Saturday Rudy Giuliani somehow held a press conference about baseless claims of voter fraud – has swiftly sought to cash in on its newfound fame, selling merchandise emblazoned with Trump-inspired puns.
“MAKE AMERICA RAKE AGAIN”, read one sticker on sale on the company website on Monday. It also featured the phrase “LAWN AND ORDER!” The stickers were selling for $5 each.
The company’s apparel seemed meant to look like political campaign gear. On a $50 hoodie, an American flag was positioned below the shoulder while the company’s name, in large letters across the chest, sat above an even larger “92”. That number appeared to refer to when Four Seasons Total Landscaping was founded – not the year Bill Clinton beat George HW Bush for the White House. A range of $25 T-shirts featured the same design.
Four Seasons Total Landscaping’s rise to fame was as precipitous as it was, to the world, hilarious.
On Saturday morning, Donald Trump announced via Twitter that there would be a “big press conference” at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia. He then changed the statement, clarifying that the event would be at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, on the gritty outer edges of the city, not the plush downtown hotel many had assumed.
Commentators, of course, poked fun.
“I woke up early, still laughing at Rudy Giuliani spewing bullshit from an industrial lot between a crematorium and dildo shop, having booked a press conference into the Four Seasons … wait for it … Total Landscaping,” David Simon, creator of The Wire, wrote on Sunday.
“The Trumpist incompetence that delivers this coda. Magical.”
During the press conference a reporter told Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, that thanks to the vote count in Pennsylvania, the election had been called for Joe Biden.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Giuliani replied.
On Sunday, Four Seasons Total Landscaping seemed to try to downplay any suggestion of partisanship on its behalf.
“We thank all of those that have shown support for our business,” it said in a Facebook post. “And while we understand the negative comments, it saddens us that we have received such harsh judgement.
“Our team at Four Seasons would have proudly hosted any presidential candidate’s campaign … we strongly believe in America and in democracy. We hope our fellow Americans can join together and support all local small businesses during this time.”
On Monday morning, while Four Seasons sold its merchandise, the story sputtered on in the press. The first Republican poll watcher called to the podium, it was revealed, was Daryl Brooks, a political gadfly and convicted sex offender from New Jersey.