'Liberal paper straws don’t work': Trump campaign starts selling plastic drinking straws

Nicholas Wu
Updated

WASHINGTON – The Trump campaign says they have a plan to make straws great again.

Brad Parscale, President Donald Trump's re-election campaign manager, tweeted on Thursday evening, "Making Straws Great Again," along with a link to buy Trump-branded straws from the Trump campaign store.

"Liberal paper straws don’t work. STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP and buy your pack of recyclable straws today," says the straws' description on the Trump campaign website.

The pack of 10 straws sells for $15, coming out to a cost of $1.50 a straw. According to the posting, the straws are "Laser engraved."

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Some cities and companies across the United States have announced that they will phase out plastic straws in favor of reusable metal straws or disposable paper straws in an effort to cut down on plastic waste.

When asked about banning plastic straws on Friday afternoon, Trump said, "I do think we have bigger problems than plastic straws. You have a little straw, but what about the plates, the wrappers and everything else that are much bigger and they’re made of the same material?"

"Everybody focuses on the straws, but there's a lot of other things to focus on," Trump continued.

Also on Friday afternoon, Elizabeth Harring, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, announced that the Trump campaign had entirely sold out of the plastic straws.

Twitter users, though, had mixed reactions to the Trump campaign's sale of reusable plastic straws.

Donald Trump Jr. joked that the straws "may not be legal in some states."

Jeremy Frankel, a reporter for the conservative outlet the Daily Wire, called the straws among "the best trolls ever by @realdonaldtrump."

Journalist Yashar Ai quipped, "I thought it was a joke, but it's true."

David Frum, a writer for The Atlantic, quipped, "Sea turtles are under-represented in the Electoral College."

ProPublica journalist Jessica Huseman noted the cost of the straws, writing, "paying $1.50 a straw to own the libs."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign starts selling plastic straws