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Walmart has stopped selling T-shirts and baby onesies that say “Impeach 45” after the clothes sparked an outcry from supporters of President Trump.
The retailer said Tuesday it was pulling the clothing from its website in response to a tweet from conservative commentator Ryan Fournier, who questioned to his 502,000 followers why Walmart was selling the items.
Fournier’s tweet triggered a firestorm of reaction by fellow Trump supporters who were angry that Walmart — a company that historically has been perceived as friendly to Republicans — would sell the shirts. Many said they would boycott the retailer.
Walmart wasted little time in responding to the criticism.
“These items were sold by third-party sellers on our open marketplace and were not offered directly by Walmart,” the company said on Twitter. “We’re removing these types of items pending review of our marketplace policies.”
By Wednesday morning the clothing was nowhere to be found on Walmart’s site. The company is still selling shirts with other political messages, however, including “Hillary for president,” “Stop Hillary” and “I’m one of 65,844,610 Americans against Trump.”
And other retailers, including Amazon, are still selling shirts with “Impeach 45” printed on them.
This isn’t the first time Walmart has come under fire for shirts sold on its website. In 2016, it pulled T-shirts and sweatshirts that read “Bulletproof. Black Lives Matter” after a complaint by the national Fraternal Order of Police.
The “Impeach 45” backlash against Walmart may be short-lived. Brad Parscale, manager for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, spoke up Tuesday in support of the retailer.
“No need to boycott,” Parscale said on Twitter. “@Walmart has assured me that the merchandise will be down as soon as possible. It was not deliberate. Thank you @Walmart for doing the right thing!”
