“The anti-Biden gear that used to fill entire tables at Trump’s rallies is conspicuously absent at his event today in St. Cloud, Minn. No Harris merchandise had taken its place, yet,” the Washington Post reports.

“Vendors said they weren’t sure when any anti-Harris swag was coming. One wondered what she would do with all her Biden gear now: ‘Kind of irrelevant,’ she said, declining to speak more because she was busy.”

A website owned by Donald Trump, is the go-to retailer to secure a pair of high-top sneakers printed with an image from the recent assassination attempt against the former president, Rolling Stone reports.

The limited-edition 5,000-quantity run are going for $299 and have already sold out in a number of sizes.

Amazon indicated Sunday that the top searches in the run-up to Prime Day this week were for Trump flags, hats, and shirts, while “trump hat” and “trump flag” spiked on Google Trends, Semafor reports.

New York Times: “As he seeks to reclaim the presidency, Mr. Trump has reprised the pitchman role from his reality TV days, with a crucial difference: He has intertwined the marketing of his private business affairs with the messaging of his campaign, leveraging his political stature for profit.”

“All of it could be described as Martyr Inc., a machinery that makes Mr. Trump money and promotes his re-election by characterizing him as unjustly persecuted and selflessly saving his supporters from a similar fate.”

“Former senior Trump aide Hope Hicks is doing strategic comms consulting for controversial fast fashion retailer Shein, which has attracted recent attention in Washington for its ties to China,” Politico reports.

“The company has faced intense scrutiny over claims that some of its clothes are made with the forced labor of Chinese Uyghurs (claims that the company has pushed back on) and also over its reliance on the ‘de minimis’ tariff exemption.”

Janen Ganesh: “In most western democracies, the defeated can go on to make a living in business. America is almost unique in being able to keep election-losers in handsome employment within politics. There is always a television slot, a think-tank sinecure, a tax-exempt political action committee, a speaking gig, a book deal. Sarah Palin, whose electoral career peaked as governor of one of America’s least populous states, sold a reported 2mn copies of her memoirs in hardback. There are European heads of government who can’t do that.”

“So lucrative and ego-feeding is America’s political industry that even non-Americans strive to crack it. Last week, Liz Truss gave a speech of virtuoso dottiness to a rightwing conference in Maryland. Don’t knock it as a career move. There is more income, less stress and often larger audiences to be had as a touring windbag than as a minister. Steve Hilton, who lasted two years in government as a (liberal) adviser to David Cameron, managed six as a Fox News host. Nigel Farage, that seven-time failure as a candidate for parliament, is a regular on the US circuit.”

“Think of the incentive structure here. Why moderate to win office if you can have the same trappings out of it? Fear of unelectability is what keeps political parties from embracing wild ideas. If that fear goes, if life in opposition is about as agreeable as life in government, an important check on extremism falls away. It becomes rational to cultivate activists over swing voters.”

A new board game, “Storm the Capitol,” is being released this weekend to commemorate the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, Newsweek reports.

From the game’s website: “Take control of one of 6 Patriots as you battle through the Capitol, collecting ballots, taking hostages, and fighting the police. Or play as the Capitol Police and use every means at your disposal to prevent the Patriots from getting to the roof with enough ballots to Stop the Steal.”

New York Times: “Retiring generals and departing top Pentagon officials once migrated regularly to the big established weapons makers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing.”

“Now they are increasingly flocking to venture capital firms that have collectively pumped billions of dollars into Silicon Valley-style startups offering the Pentagon new war-fighting tools like autonomous killer drones, hypersonic jets and space surveillance equipment.”

Washington Post: “Haley’s finances are under a spotlight as she seeks a return to public life, this time as president. A financial disclosure she submitted earlier this year, as required for candidates, shows how she followed a well-worn path to wealth: trading on her government experience, both as U.N. ambassador and, before that, as governor of South Carolina.”

“The public profile Haley, 51, cultivated as a Republican official — melding deregulatory policies with interventionist and adamantly pro-Israel positions — created lucrative private opportunities. In an 11-month period ending January 2023, she earned about $2.5 million from paid speeches alone, delivered to banks, other businesses and advocacy groups, according to her disclosure. That’s more than she earned in combined salary during the eight years she spent as governor and then a presidential Cabinet member.”

Politico: “Until last year, the lavish hotel was part of former President Donald Trump’s real-estate empire. No Democratic official would dare step foot inside. But as the hotel struggled to make money after Trump left office, the former president sold his lease on the Old Post Office Building and the hotel was rebranded as a Waldorf Astoria.”

“Now, spending time there has become a way for the Democratic elite to stick it to the former president.”

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Axios he is exploring a new career that includes connecting the next-frontier worlds of space and AI with Washington.

McCarthy has been friends with Elon Musk for about a decade, and says he could imagine working with him or other future-tech moguls.

“Airbnb will announce Monday that Ron Klain — former White House chief of staff, and one of Washington’s best-connected Democrats — will join the company as chief legal officer on Jan. 1,” Axios reports.

“It’s a surprise twist for the storied career of Klain, who remains a confidant of President Biden, with a big behind-the-scenes voice in his re-election campaign.”

“MyPillow is auctioning off hundreds of pieces of equipment and subleasing manufacturing space after several shopping networks and major retailers took the company’s products off shelves,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

“Major retailers such as Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and Slumberland Furniture all said they will no longer sell MyPillow products as CEO Mike Lindell continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.”