MAGA hats, 'Fake News' shirts are hot sellers at Newseum, irritating reporters
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump "Make America Great Again" hats are pictured during a meeting with Trump's Hispanic Advisory Council at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - S1BETWOLUOAB
The Newseum in Washington, D.C., is an interactive museum that celebrates the role and history of the media in America.
So, what are among the top-selling items in the museum's gift shop and through its online store? Red caps that say "Make America Great Again," and T-shirts that say "You Are Very Fake News."
But the popularity of items associated with President Trump has been irritating many members of the media, Poynter.org, the website for a media think tank, reported.
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“Your ‘fake news’ t-shirts aren’t funny, @Newseum(.) They make a mockery of the reporters, whose name you have inscribed on your walls, who died for their vocation,” reporter Leigh Giangreco tweeted.
The mission of Newseum, a nonprofit enterprise, is to “increase public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment,” according to its website.
As for sales of merchandise at the museum, Sonya Gavankar, a Newseum spokeswoman, told Poynter that "the MAGA hat and the FBI hat are two of our best-selling items.”
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She added that the merchandise offered for sale shows how the museum tries to foster an environment that encourages free expression.
“As a nonpartisan organization, people with differing viewpoints feel comfortable visiting the Newseum," she said, "and one of our greatest strengths is that we’re champions not only of a free press but also of free speech."
But a member of the White House press corps, on condition of anonymity, objected to the Newseum selling political merchandise, adding that “fake news” apparel was an “insult to journalists,” Poynter reported.
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“I go to the Newseum a lot and actually saw these T-shirts previously,” the reporter told Poynter. “I remember commenting to my friend how inappropriate I thought it was to sell this anti-press material at a museum that celebrates our industry.
“'Fake news' is a phrase that undercuts our profession and the hard-working journalists who practice the craft,” the reporter continued. “Selling clothing that is blatantly anti-press further promotes hatred towards journalists.”
Another reporter Valerie Insinna, tweeted that she will no longer be visiting the museum.
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“I won't be recommending it to visitors, and I will not be taking my family and friends there ever again,” she wrote.
Other Newseum visitors who object to the Trump-related merchandise might consider just buying a Republican or Democratic coffee mug. The Newseum has those, too.