Paper straws may be better for sea turtles and other wild animals who risk injury from littered plastic straws, but they are absolutely terrible for drinking cold beverages. Anybody who has used one knows that they regularly dissolve and turn into mushy garbage, often requiring customers to ask for another straw or for a new drink entirely. Cities around the country are starting to ban restaurants from giving out single-use plastic straws over the fear of pollution. Even in the nation's capital, D.C. establishments risk being fined hundreds of dollars if they get caught handing out a non-paper straw. Well, the Trump 2020 campaign recently tapped right into the hate that so many people have for these bans and products. Last Thursday, the Trump 2020 campaign began selling reusable plastic straws. It turns out, they have been wildly successful in just four days.
On July 18th, the campaign announced that new "laser engraved" straws were for sale. "Liberal paper straws don’t work. STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP and buy your pack of recyclable straws today," the campaign's website declared. The packs cost $15.00 and contain 10, made in the USA drinking straws.
On Monday, Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale announced that they "have sold more than 140,000 straws. That is over $200,000 raised."
Furthermore, these were not bulk orders from big time donors either. Parscale says, "More than half of all Straw purchasers were BRAND NEW small dollar donors."
We have sold more than 140,000 straws. That is over $200,000 raised.
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) July 22, 2019
More than half of all Straw purchasers were BRAND NEW small dollar donors.
Amazing!
Perhaps it was Parscale's own experience with paper straws that led the campaign to start this fundraising venture.
He recently tweeted, "I’m so over paper straws. #LiberalProgress. This is exactly what they would do to the economy as well. Squeeze it until it doesn’t work."
I’m so over paper straws. #LiberalProgress
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) July 18, 2019
This is exactly what they would do to the economy as well. Squeeze it until it doesn’t work. pic.twitter.com/zKfiZiSHV5
Critics will say the plastic straws are a problem because they are often discarded into rivers and streams. They then can harm animals who either inhale the straws or eat them unknowingly. But, President Trump said on Friday he thinks we "have bigger problems than plastic straws."
"You have a little straw," he continued. "But what about the plates, the wrappers and everything else that are much bigger, and they're made of the same material?"