Anyone with a passing familiarity with the Jersey Shore — thanks in part to the MTV reality series of the same name — knows that it doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being, uh, a bastion of good taste. That’s not true of the entire Garden State coastline, of course, because for every Wildwood or Seaside Heights there’s a Cape May or Stone Harbor.
It’s the various boardwalks of the Jersey shore, however, that can run especially seedy, and it should come as little surprise that these places are particularly thriving in the age of the Donald Trump presidency. Case in point, over the weekend, Comedy Central Director of News & Stand-Up Nick Dyer tweeted some photos of MAGA and Trump t-shirts he encountered somewhere along the Jersey Shore.
“The MAGA shirts at the Jersey shore this year are a sight to behold,” he wrote, accompanied by the offending photos — which included anything from outlandish slogans to straight-up violent rhetoric.
One shirt featured a muscled illustration of Trump lifting a large barbell with the slogan “DONALD PUMP” (made all the more hilarious given the president’s aversion to exercise) while others boasted things like ‘THESE COLORS DON’T RUN, THEY RELOAD” and “STOMP MY FLAG I’LL STOMP YOUR ASS.”
https://twitter.com/nicholasddyer/status/1152929797468762113
Charming. Dyer followed up with some additional photos — one with a “clever” take on the LGBTQ acronym and more bile.
https://twitter.com/nicholasddyer/status/1152948555381923840
https://twitter.com/nicholasddyer/status/1153279646525509632
“This is the same kind of dangerous rhetoric that is condoned and encouraged by the President of the United States, leading to crowds chanting ‘send her back’ at MAGA rallies,” he wrote.
It seems particularly egregious to have this type of apparel on display in an otherwise family-friendly setting. But most people couldn’t help just pointing out the overwhelmingly blatant stupidity at play here — not the least of which, is that that’s not how acronyms work!
https://twitter.com/HJBenjamin/status/1152953620066947080
I’ll bring the hamberders to the LGBTBBQ
— spɹɐʍpǝ ɐɥʇuɐɯɐs (@samiamcreative) July 22, 2019
When you wanna own the libs but don’t know a single solitary word that starts with the letter Q https://t.co/LCDhZPYqL6
— j (@gi_bitchhh) July 22, 2019
Exclusive video of Trump lifting weights pic.twitter.com/c4WMxjvPzM
— Mike ⚖️🇺🇦 🌻 (@mike_shortjd) July 21, 2019
So many different ways to say “I’M WITH STUPID”!
— Steven Sherman (@Sherm_to) July 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/mike_daws/status/1153280606064861184
https://twitter.com/thegreatzukini/status/1152946920362524672
https://twitter.com/DarthLux/status/1153137669226082304
https://twitter.com/tacoflashlight/status/1152970170018619393
https://twitter.com/Rainbowsherbe10/status/1152968210582396928
To anyone who might be disturbed by messaging on these shirts, consider this your friendly reminder to get out and vote in 2020.