Donald Trump shut down a Pennsylvania McDonald’s for adding fries. Now, those “certified” frames are listed on Facebook Market for $10,000.
Alongside the fries are a number of high-priced, questionable items connected to the Republican nominee. A quick scroll through Facebook Marketplace reveals a $1,000 Trump magazine cover, $5,000 Trump signatures, and a $3,000 Trump monopoly. That ubiquity may give Trump an unexpected advantage in the polls: The marketplace also has a surprising pull with Gen Z, that most coveted and elusive voting bloc.
Facebook Market’s Trump boom
After Trump’s announcement of McDonald’s in Pennsylvania earlier this month, retailers were quick to say the ownership of the fries was affected. Another Market ad confirms that the fries are “served with gloves to maintain quality.” The seller is from Modena, New York (a three-hour drive from the Pennsylvania McDonald’s), and the asking price is $10,000. Also there is a seller from Mt. Olive, North Carolina, which sells fries for $550,000.
Anything signed by Trump increases its Facebook Marketplace value. One seller sent Trump a letter in 2019 about a school project; now they trade his signature for $5,000. There is a signed golf flag for $1,250 and a signed photo for $2,500. Trump’s picture book Our Journey Together it was originally sold at $74.99; now, you’ll cough up $574 for a signed copy.
Vintage magazine covers featuring Trump have also increased in value on Facebook Marketplace. March 1990 Playboy the cover sells for $3,000. (For reference, the May 1990 issue, with Margaux Hemingway on the cover, is currently priced at $8.) The May 1980 issue New Yorkfeaturing Trump alongside a list of other New York power brokers, it is listed at $1,100.
Artists who sell their MAGA-fied works on Facebook Marketplace also demand higher prices. An oil painting that recreates Evan Vucci’s infamous portrait of Trump, boxing in an assassination attempt after being assassinated, is set for $2,500. Facebook Marketplace shoppers can buy paintings of a “smiling Trump,” a weirdly blurred Trump, or Trump as Jesus Christ.
Amazing reach of Facebook Market and Gen Z
In recent years, Facebook Marketplace has taken on new meaning as a Gen Z hotspot. Many young people have left Facebook, opting for video-heavy TikTok and heavy YouTube or Instagram. But they keep going to Facebook Marketplace, looking for cheap furniture and second-hand deals. In their Gen Z-focused redesign, Facebook emphasized its Marketing feature.
It’s surprising, then, that such high-value Trump marketing could come from the Gen Z area. According to the Data For Progress poll, Kamala Harris leads Trump among Gen Z voters by 58% to 39%. And they care about the tilt of their social networks: The year after Elon Musk took over iX, Gen Z usershare dropped from 23% to 20%.
But algorithmic bubbles are likely to protect consumers from the Gen Z Facebook Market. Facebook’s algorithm determines which assets will be displayed on each Facebook user’s feed. This means Gen Z can continue their couch hunting, while older, MAGA-leaning generations can consider a $10,000 box of fries.
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