It has been a stormy few weeks for former US president Donald Trump, who on Thursday was indicted in connection with a US$130,000 (S$173,000) hush money payment to an adult film actress.
But there has also been a small silver lining for the 76-year-old, who is alleged to have paid the sum to porn star Stormy Daniels to avoid a scandal ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.
Mr Trump is said to be running for the US presidency in 2024 again and soon after the charges were reported, his campaign sent out a fundraising e-mail.
The message asked people for money, offering a T-shirt with the words “I stand with Trump” for donations of US$47 or more.
His campaign team claimed they were “flying off shelves” and in the first 24 hours, raised more than US$4 million.
Ironically, Daniels, whom he spent years battling in court, is set to duel him again – in the merchandise stakes.
The 44-year-old, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has also launched her own range of merchandise.
In a tweet on Thursday after the charges were announced, she said that orders for “#Teamstormy merch/autograph(s)” were “pouring in”, reported the BBC.
“Thank you to everyone for your support and love!” she said.
Her website features a range of merchandise, including US$20 tees with the words “#TEAMSTORMY”, signed posters of herself posing in lingerie, and a dog chew toy that looks like Mr Trump.
Her tweet received more than 94,000 likes and many users replied with thank-you messages.
Daniels has 1.3 million followers on Twitter, as well as a Facebook page that has 272,000 followers.
On Wednesday night, Daniels went on livestream on OnlyFans, a website known for its adult content, to defend herself from criticism that she was trying to profit from the scandal, according to the Independent.
“Everybody that has a business sells merch,” she said, pointing out Mr Trump was similarly using the case to pull in funds.
“That’s actually – I can’t believe I’m about to say this – kind of brilliant,” she said. “Why is it okay for him and it’s not okay for me?”
