Trump-Licensed Beer Pong Set Sparks Legal Controversy Over Use of Presidential Seal
A merchandise website that pays licensing fees to President Trump is selling a “Patriotic Pong” beer pong set featuring the official presidential seal, raising serious legal questions about the commercial misuse of the official government emblem. Federal law strictly prohibits the unauthorized sale or use of the seal in a way that implies government endorsement, a violation punishable by fines and potential imprisonment.
The controversy surrounds a $20 beer pong set sold on GodBlessTheUSABible.com, a website affiliated with musician Lee Greenwood, which uses President Trump’s name and likeness under a licensing agreement with his company, CIC Ventures LLC. The “Patriotic Pong” set, which includes “Presidential themed balls,” displays the image of the official Presidential Seal, though with a slight alteration in the surrounding text to read “Donald J. Trump President of the United States” instead of the seal’s standard, official text. This product, along with a $150 record player also featuring the seal, marks what appears to be the first time the seal has appeared on purely commercial merchandise connected to the President.
Federal law, specifically 18 U.S. Code § 713, strictly prohibits the knowing manufacture, reproduction, or sale of a likeness of the seal of the President, or any “substantial part thereof,” unless explicitly authorized by presidential regulation published in the Federal Register. Crucially, the law criminalizes the display of the seal in a manner “reasonably calculated to convey a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the government of the United States.” Violations of this statute can result in fines or imprisonment for up to six months. Past administrations have historically policed the seal’s use vigilantly, even demanding the satirical newspaper The Onion remove a replica from its website to prevent any suggestion of government endorsement on a commercial platform. While the Trump Organization has previously displayed the seal on golf markers at its private properties, the sale of a beer pong set is viewed by legal ethics experts as a new and potentially more blatant crossing of the line between private business and the highest public office, suggesting an improper commercialization of a protected government emblem.
