The Best of the RNC Merchandise: Welcome Bags and In-Person Exclusives

The Republican National Convention kicked off yesterday in Charlotte, N.C. Like its Democratic counterpart, the format had to be tweaked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the event was centered around livestreamed speeches rather than in-person speakers.

Without the throngs of people visiting Charlotte for the convention, there was obviously no traditional promotional and branded merchandise for attendees, also like the DNC. But, unlike the DNC, which made merchandise available for spectators and supporters through an e-commerce store, the RNC still focused on in-person gifts for delegates and select attendees in Charlotte.

From what we’ve gathered on Twitter, most of the promotional and branded stuff came in the form of welcome gift baskets when people arrived in Charlotte.

https://twitter.com/GOPconvention/status/1296867508851548160

And the items inside the bags are designed to last far beyond just the convention, with products like rain ponchos and water bottles, as well as timely options like a branded face mask and hand sanitizer.

https://twitter.com/GOPconvention/status/1296180636403687425

There also appeared to be "Trump-Pence 2020" branded gifts for each delegate, but no word as to what was inside the branded tote bag.

The Missouri delegation takes a group photo on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center on August 24, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by David T. Foster III-Pool/Getty Images) | Credit: Getty Images by David T. Foster III

As the convention goes on this week, there’s always the chance that items like these make their way online for supporters to buy. (The URL www.gop.com/store directs to a 404 page not found error, while the URL www.gopstore.com directs to a working store but with no RNC merch.) But for now it looks like the RNC chose to keep things exclusive to in-person attendees and delegates, rather than take the universal approach of the Democratic convention.