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It's Not Too Late To Get A Drumpf Hat

by Morgan Brinlee

Two weeks ago, comedian and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver made Drumpf a household name. In just 22 minutes, the late-night talk show host dissected the success of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign, and outlined his plan to dismantle the brand the businessman had built around his last name. "Make Donald Drumpf again," Oliver said, using the original spelling of Trump's family name in a parody campaign that quickly went viral. Thousands of people have purchased hats HBO produced as part of Oliver's campaign, but are the Donald Drumpf hats sold out?

Mimicking the style of the red "Make America Great Again" ball caps sold by Trump's campaign, HBO began marketing parody hats with the slogan "Make Donald Drumpf Again" immediately after Oliver's segment aired late last month. The network has since sold 35,000 caps "at cost," as an HBO spokesperson told the New York Times last week.

Demand has been so high that Last Week Tonight has had to include a warning about delayed delivery on its online store: "Due to, um, unexpected ludicrous demand, our #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain hats may be delayed slightly; we’ll get them to you as soon as drumpishly possible."

Online reviews from people who've purchased a Drumpf hat help shed some light on to why it's so popular. Shoppers tout it as "The single greatest hat that anyone ever has worn at any time" or "the best product in the world," and say it "looks presidential." Clearly, customers are satisfied.

But fear not — while the Drumpf hats may have been temporarily sold out last week, they're currently listed as back in stock, although the show is still asking for patience in processing and shipping orders. The Drumpf Google Chrome extension released by Last Week Tonight has also become quite popular, having been downloaded more than 433,000 times, according to The New York Times.

Despite having sold out of the Drumpf hat, HBO isn't profiting. In a move aimed specifically at further irritating the Republican frontrunner, Last Week Tonight sells each "Make Donald Drumpf Again" parody cap at its manufacturing cost of $17.50 to eliminate any potential for profit. Oliver and Last Week Tonight have said the decision not to profit from the sales was simply another attempt to get under Trump's skin. "We know nothing would irritate him more than someone choosing not to make a profit," it says on the show's online store.

Although the Drumpf name has become almost as popular as Trump himself, the businessman is still leading the Republican presidential primary race, which will head into some delegate-rich states like Florida and Ohio on Tuesday. It seems The Donald has been (unfortunately) unfazed by the thousands of Drumpf hats sold.

Images: HBO