Claim About Trump’s ‘Small’ Genital Organ Going All The Way To Supreme Court — This Week
A case about mocking former President Donald Trump’s genital organ as “small” is set to be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States — this week.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of Katherine K. Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Steve Elster on Wednesday on whether it is a violation of the First Amendment for the government to deny Elster a trademark for a T-shirt that mocks Trump using a double entendre that is clearly a reference to his twig and/or berries:
Section 1052(c) of Title 15 provides in pertinent part that a trademark shall be refused registration if it “[c]onsists of or comprises a name * * * identifying a particular living individual except by his written consent.” 15 U.S.C. 1052(c).
The question presented is as follows: Whether the refusal to register a mark under Section 1052(c) violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment when the mark contains criticism of a government official or public figure.
The case involves Steve Elster’s attempt to trademark the phrase “TRUMP TOO SMALL” for use on t-shirts, which he sells on his website TrumpTooSmall.com for a cool $29.99.
In case there’s any doubt as to the phrase’s double meaning, Elster’s site features a series of banners linking to news articles about Trump’s penis size becoming a campaign issue in 2016 — including his infamous “guarantee” that there’s “no problem” with his size — in the middle of a presidential debate:
BAIER: Mr. Trump, your response?
TRUMP: Well, I also happened to call him a lightweight, OK? And I have said that. So I would like to take that back. He is really not that much of a lightweight. And as far as — and I have to say this, I have to say this. He hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. I have never heard of this. Look at those hands. Are they small hands?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And he referred to my hands, if they are small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there is no problem. I guarantee.
Elster’s trademark application specifically referenced the exchange as well, according to Commerce official Katherine Vidal’s petition to the Court:
According to Elster’s registration request, the phrase he sought to trademark invokes a memorable exchange between President Trump and Senator Marco Rubio from a 2016 presidential primary debate, and aims to “convey that some features of President Trump and his policies are diminutive.”
Watch above via Fox News.
