Editor’s Note
This article explores the origins and ownership of the Trump Watch brand, tracing its roots back to a pointed political critique from the 2016 election. It examines the irony of a campaign trail prophecy seemingly coming to fruition through a commercial venture.
While Donald Trump-inspired watches date back to 1984, the launch of Trump Watches in September last year raised many questions, including: Who owns the company and where are the watches made?
During the 2016 US Presidential Election, a political rival lashed out at Donald Trump on the debate stage and landed a well-timed barb.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio quipped. Little did Rubio know that eight years later, he would be proven correct! It would appear to be a deep irony that, through a licensing agreement, Trump is indeed selling watches.
The previous story detailed the wide range of Trump-inspired watches being sold on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shein, and Zazzle. The designs range from the conventional to the quirky, cartoon-like, and bizarre. In fact, some watches date back to 1984.
However, during the early stages of the US Presidential Election, a business associated with the Trump name generated international media attention by launching Trump Watches. At the time, a significant mystery surrounded the companies selling and manufacturing these products.
In a video released on 27 September as the Republican nominee, Trump discussed the launch of Trump Watches, suggesting ownership places the wearer in a ‘very exclusive club’.
The Trump Victory 18k gold Tourbillon – limited to 147 pieces available on pre-order, each with 122 diamonds. “Once They Are Gone, They Are Gone” the website states.
One mystery surrounding the new collection is that, even though Trump is spruiking the watch, it is claimed he has no involvement with the company.
Interestingly, Trump Watches was not the first line of timepieces the US President has marketed. In 2005, he released the Donald J. Trump Signature Watch Collection; however, this time around, there is significant – and legitimate – intrigue around the company selling the watches and the company(s) making the watches, given that, in 2005, Trump was not a politician, let alone the US president.
The latest Trump-branded watches can only be purchased online via GetTrumpWatches.com, which clearly states that the business is not owned by or connected to Donald Trump.
This raises one obvious question: Why GetTrumpWatches.com rather than TrumpWatches.com? Fortunately, there’s possibly a simple answer — that domain had already been taken.
TrumpWatches.com was registered in 2011 and, according to GoDaddy.com, is a ‘private registration’ that expires in July this year. However, this may not be the entire story, as other similar websites featuring Trump-branded merchandise can be found using the same URL formatting. Among them are ‘Get Trump Fragrances’ (gettrumpfragrances.com) and ‘Get Trump Sneakers’ (gettrumpsneakers.com).
A ‘private registration for TrumpWatches.com was established in 2011 and expires in July.
These websites include similar disclaimers to the watch website; namely: ‘Trump Sneakers are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals. 45Footwear, LLC uses the Trump name, image and likeness under a license agreement which may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.’
While both websites are registered by CIC Ventures LLC, a company based in Florida. Interestingly, the registered address is 3505 Summit Boulevard in West Palm Beach. This is also the registered address of the Trump International Golf Club, which would seem incongruous with the disclaimers on these websites stating that these products are the result of a license agreement and are “not political.”
According to the New York Times, Trump was recorded as the owner of CIC Ventures LLC in his 2023 financial disclosure form; however, the watch website has a different ownership structure.
The company behind GetTrumpWatches.com and reportedly behind the licensing agreement is TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC.
The website explains the relationship between the business and the US President in the following way: