Fact-Checkers: “Trump 2020” Flags Were Made in China, but No Link to Campaign Orders

Snopes reported on July 27, 2018, that Chinese factories were making “Trump 2020” flags and banners, but that there was no evidence the Trump re-election campaign had ordered them. FactCheck.org reached the same conclusion on July 31, and PolitiFact did again in February 2019.

What was being made in China

• Reuters reported on July 25, 2018, that Jiahao Flag Co. in Anhui province had made about 90,000 “Trump 2020” banners since March. Manager Yao Yuanyuan said buyers were in China and abroad and that she did not know whether any were tied to the campaign or the Republican Party.
• A flag factory owner in Zhejiang province told NPR’s “The Indicator” in early July 2018 that he was making Trump 2020 flags, and that the labels said made in China.
• Factory managers linked a jump in orders to buyers trying to get ahead of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

The campaign’s purchases

The campaign said all of its merchandise was “100% made in the USA” and called the flags counterfeit. FactCheck.org and PolitiFact reviewed campaign spending reports filed with the Federal Election Commission and found no payments to the Chinese factories. Many merchandise payments went to Ace Specialties in Louisiana and Cali-Fame in California, the maker of the campaign’s red hats.

PolitiFact found similar flags sold on Amazon by various sellers. It rated a 2019 viral post Mostly False: the photo was real and the banners were made in China, but no evidence linked the campaign to buying them.