Twitter Blue Checks Outraged by White House Selling Trump Coronavirus Coins — But It Wasn’t the White House

A variety of prominent Twitter users — including Senator Bernie Sanders — were fished in by a “White House Gift Shop” offer of commemorative Covid-19 pandemic coins, but the site offering the apocalyptic tchotchkes is not, in fact, affiliated with President Donald Trump or The White House.

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was among those who expressed outrage this week when “The White House Gift Shop” began selling coins commemorating Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis, causing many to believe that Trump and The White House were trying to make a crass buck.

Sanders tweeted “If the White House Gift Shop is going to produce $100 COVID-19 coins, Trump can sure as hell utilize the Defense Production Act to manufacture the gloves, gowns, and masks our medical workers desperately need.”

If the White House Gift Shop is going to produce $100 COVID-19 coins, Trump can sure as hell utilize the Defense Production Act to manufacture the gloves, gowns, and masks our medical workers desperately need. https://t.co/Wr6Y1uwG0i

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 29, 2020

Sanders wasn’t the only blue check who was fooled, while others familiar with this particular phenomenon from previous rodeos tried to warn that the shop isn’t actually related to The White House at all. That’s a fascinating and convoluted story all its own that TPM’s Josh Marshall dug into a few years back.

Once, this would have been hard to believe. Once. The White House Is Now Selling This Absurd Commemorative Coin Honoring President Trump’s Fight Against the Coronavirus https://t.co/BIb5VxRXsx

— mimi swartz (@mimiswartz) April 30, 2020

Is the Trump administration hawking COVID-19 coins, as Senator Bernie Sanders implied in a tweet to his nearly 10 million followers? No. The tweet is highly misleading. A fact-check from @thedispatch and @Alec_Dent.https://t.co/H8NjIsjpJk https://t.co/fHpf6IYsJl

— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) May 1, 2020

The @WhiteHouse Gift Shop is selling “World vs. Coronavirus” coin for $100…and the description says there’s only 1,000 but somehow I feel like this is another @realDonaldTrump scam to cash in on #COVID19

Surprised it’s not a “Trump vs. Coronavirus” coin tbh pic.twitter.com/FTEKXaEKBB

— David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) April 30, 2020

You know the White House Gift Shop that’s selling #Covid19 commemorative coins of dubious taste that’s getting people angry? Trump’s got nothing to do with it & the website is not connected to the White House. It’s a private company that holds the trademark. pic.twitter.com/ELl8fPYg6H

— Alistair Coleman (@alistaircoleman) April 30, 2020

Capitalism, where a Trump-controlled White House will sell you a commemorative coin for $100, so you never forget the “historic moment” America’s profit-driven money-obsessed economy failed to protect the population and prevent over 60,000 people dying. pic.twitter.com/TmzDT1KslO

— The Socialist Party (@OfficialSPGB) April 29, 2020

The 2020 @realmoney “No Apologies Tour” continues:

coronavirus task force members surrounding it.”)
A “great success story?” Coronavirus commemorative coins? Trump is writing the negative ads that will bring him down in 2020. Indeed, Trump is currently in a fight with Fox

— Douglas Kass (@DougKass) April 30, 2020

TRUMP is selling $100 coins celebrating his handling of #covid. YUCK!!!

It’s like the @BuffaloBills celebrating Scott Norwood with commemorative “wide right” plates and beanie babies. Actually, that would be better. At least Scottie tried. pic.twitter.com/vNvF4Ohlwt

— Nate McMurray for Congress 2020 (@Nate_McMurray) April 29, 2020

‘World vs. Virus’: Trump White House selling coronavirus souvenir coins https://t.co/RzZadJyrXm

— MSN Canada (@MSNca) April 29, 2020

‘An Ivanka idea’: Internet slams Trump for selling $100 commemorative COVID-19 coinshttps://t.co/ErTVH4DUqP

— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 29, 2020

Hard to think of a better symbol of Trump’s handling of the epidemic – a self-promoting rip-off at a steep price – than the White House gift shop selling commemorative Covid-19 coins for $125. https://t.co/RSgMesId1h

— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) April 29, 2020

I repeat: The “White House Gift Shop” is a private for-profit entity. It’s not related to the Trump White House.

Yes, I realize it tries to appear as if it is, but it is not. The #coronavirus commemorative coin is not a thing the administration is doing. https://t.co/EYLapQzQWq

— Elizabeth Crisp (@elizabethcrisp) April 29, 2020

fyi folks the “white house gift shop” selling the tacky covid-19 coin is not an official govt gift shop. its gross, and no doubt trump is doing gross things. but this is not that. pic.twitter.com/oU1KowGoWK

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) April 29, 2020

But even skeptics like Patricia Arquette Were pretty sure Trump was the villain anyway.

Now the vampires are charging 125.00 for these coins and I find it hard to believe Trump who has copywritten his ass from here to Timbuktu including massage parlors in China is not getting money somehow.

— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) April 30, 2020

The official White House Communications Agency did once release coins that bore the inscription “Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un” in advance of Trump’s summit with the North Korean dictator, but the White House has not produced coronavirus coins. Yet.

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