Of Course “Will You Shut Up, Man?” Is Already a T-Shirt

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There were several standout moments and lines from last night’s debate, which best resembled a hurricane blowing into a barn full of manure. But none was quite so striking as Joe Biden reaching his boiling point just minutes into the night and asking Donald Trump, “Will you shut up, man?”

Online, Biden’s line has already been plucked as a Democratic rallying cry from last night. And because it’s 2020, it’s also been made into a T-shirt. It wasn’t long after asking Trump to shut up that the merch machine started whirring—it’s as if Biden was speaking directly into a screen-printing device. And now the former VP’s comeback is suddenly the hottest tee slogan in the world.

The Hill reports that before the debate even wrapped, the official Biden campaign store was selling tees with the phrase pasted over an image of a wounded-looking Trump. The speed with which this tee came to life was at least mildly surprising, and signaled what the Biden campaign thought of as the best messaging against Trump—even if Biden’s whole strategy heading into the night was to avoid exactly these types of skirmishes. If you can’t stick to your plan, at least make sure your improvisations are merch-friendly.

The Biden campaign isn’t the only party capitalizing on the Democratic nominee’s annoyance, either. The speed at which merch makers jumped at the chance to print the phrase onto a T-shirt is astonishing. On Etsy, there are already mugs, lawn signs, masks, wine glasses, hats, and necklaces (??). And the tees, so many tees: tees with tape over Trump’s mouth, tees with Biden’s signature aviators, tees with the Statue of Liberty for some reason, tees with a line drawing of someone shushing, and tees with Uncle Sam saying he wants YOU to shut up, man. Outside of Etsy, a brand called Dream Learn Do More, which makes cutesy political T-shirts, is already pumping out a tee with the slogan repeating itself in rainbow colors. (There’s also the folksier alternative based on one of Biden’s other memorable comebacks: “Keep Yappin’, Man.”)

The process by which a debate flashpoint or momentous pop culture happening is converted into merch is nothing new. Who could forget the flood of “Nasty Woman” merch that followed Trump’s comments toward Hillary Clinton? But in the end it’s not just gear (and mugs, wine glasses, or necklaces.) In a campaign, merch—especially the stuff that’s generated outside the official campaign—can serve as a kind of weathervane, giving unofficial feedback on how a candidate’s messaging is or isn’t working. That an offhand comment like “Will You Shut Up, Man?” has become a new slogan speaks deeply to the irritation many voters must feel. Even before the Biden team released the tee, Twitter was swarmed with people asking for it. Constituents have made it clear that in 2020 they want a candidate who will give them the gift of normalcy. Mostly, these voters want to stop being bombarded with politics, the unending drove of portentous New York Times alerts, and for there to be an end to Trump’s squawking. In essence, they just have one question, “Will you shut up, man?” Now, they can wear it.

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