Shopify unplugs Trump campaign e-commerce site, citing violence policies
Online-store platform Shopify has removed all of President Donald Trump's campaign merchandise from its platform, saying those web pages violated the Canadian company's policy against sellers promoting violence.
Both Trump merchandise websites — trumpstore.com and shop.donaldjtrump.com — were disabled Thursday. Soon after, Shopify said in a statement that it "does not tolerate actions that incite violence."
"Based on recent events, we have determined that the actions by President Donald J. Trump violate our Acceptable Use Policy, which prohibits promotion or support of organizations, platforms or people that threaten or condone violence to further a cause," said Shopify, which had been hosting Trump's store.
The removal comes one day after violent protests at the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of President Trump breached the building while lawmakers were trying to tally Electoral College votes and certify the results of the November election won by Joe Biden. Four people died soon after the event.
MAGA hats, T-shirts, bobbleheads and more
When active, both Trump online stores offered Make America Great Again hats, Trump 2020 buttons, flags, pennants, T-shirts, bobbleheads and more. Sales from Trumpstore.com flowed to the privately held Trump Organization while shop.donaldjtrump.com funded the official Trump campaign, NPR reported.
Trumpstore.com generated $107,186 in income in 201 alone, according to a ProPublica investigation that cited a Trump financial disclosure.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shopify marks the latest in a growing list of tech platforms Mr. Trump has been blocked from this week.
Snapchat suspended Mr. Trump's account on Wednesday while Twitter barred Mr. Trump from using the @realDonaldTrump account after deleting some of his posts. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that Mr. Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts have been suspended "indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete."
