What's that smell? Trump unveils new fragrances with his name as the brand
The former New York real estate tycoon, who moved back into the White House in January for his second term, announced this week that a new Trump-branded cologne for men and perfume for women were available for purchase.
"Trump Fragrances are here. They're called 'Victory 45-47' because they're all about Winning, Strength and Success," he wrote on his Truth Social account on Monday.
Trump, a Republican, served as the 45th US president from 2017-2021 and became the country's 47th president with his 2024 win.
The fragrances come in a black box with gold lettering for men and a red box with gold lettering for women. The fragrance containers look like mini statues of Trump.
Reaction was swift online, with critics accusing the president of corruption.
"There's never been, and I don't think in American history, someone who's stealing so much in plain sight - grifting and graft," US Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said in a video shared on X.
Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, noted Trump was advertising the fragrances while Republicans sought to reduce Medicare benefits for low-income Americans in his budget bill.
"Senate Democrats are fighting to prevent President Trump from kicking 17 million people off their health care and he's promoting his line of fragrances," Welch said on X.
The White House declined to comment about the criticism.
The scents are the most recent products that the Trump family has unveiled. In June his family business licensed its name to launch a U.S. Mobile service and a $499 smartphone. The phone was promoted as sleek and gold, Trump's preferred colour.
The president has said he put his business interests in a trust managed by his children to avoid conflicts of interest, but income from such business ventures will eventually enrich the president, who sits atop the series of Trump family firms.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysia Sun
43 minutes ago
- Malaysia Sun
Trump Says New Tariff Deadline Not 100 Percent Firm
Trump sent letters to trading partners including key US allies Japan and South Korea, announcing that duties he had suspended in April would snap back even more steeply in three weeks, AFP reported. Tokyo and Seoul would be hit with 25 percent tariffs on their goods, he wrote. Countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia were slapped with duties ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent. But in a move that will cause fresh uncertainty in a global economy already unsettled by his tariffs, the 79-year-old once again left the countries room to negotiate a deal. I would say firm, but not 100 percent firm, Trump told reporters at a dinner with visiting Israeli regime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu when asked if August 1 deadline was firm. Pressed on whether the letters were his final offer, Trump replied: I would say final but if they call with a different offer, and I like it, then well do it. The US president had unveiled sweeping tariffs on imports on what he called Liberation Day on April 2, including a baseline 10 percent tariff on all countries. But he quickly suspended all tariffs above 10 percent for 90 days following turmoil in the markets. They were due to kick back in on Wednesday and Trump sent the letters in advance of that deadline. Trumps near-identically worded letters to Japanese and South Korean leaders said he would impose 25 percent tariffs as their trading relationships with Washington were unfortunately, far from Reciprocal. He warned of further escalation if there was retaliation against the levies. But Trump on Monday also signed an order formally extending the Wednesday deadline, postponing it to August 1. The new August date effectively marks a further delay and Trumps latest comments threaten to compound the uncertainty over when the deadline really is. According to letters posted to Trumps Truth Social platform, products from Indonesia will face a 32 percent tariff, while the level for Bangladesh is 35 percent and Thailand, 36 percent. Most countries receiving letters so far had duties similar or unchanged from rates threatened in April, although some like Laos and Cambodia saw notably lower levels. The Trump administration is under pressure to show results after promising 90 deals in 90 days. So far only two firm deals have emerged, with Britain and Vietnam, plus an agreement to dial back super-high tit-for-tat tariffs with China. Japans Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a cabinet meeting Monday that the announcement of the 25 percent tariffs is genuinely regrettable, local media reported. South Koreas National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac meanwhile met with his US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington, expressing hope that a bilateral summit could soon be held to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes across key pending issues. Asked why Trump opted to start with Japan and South Korea, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: Its the presidents prerogative, and those are the countries he chose. Thailands acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said Tuesday he wanted a better deal than the 36 percent tariff Trump threatened to impose, adding: The most important thing is that we maintain good relations with the US. Malaysia said it was committed to continuing engagement with the US toward a balanced, mutually beneficial, and comprehensive trade agreement, its trade ministry said in a statement, after Washington imposed a 25 percent tariff on the Southeast Asian nation. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there would be more deals coming up: We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours. Trump has also threatened an extra 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of Anti-American policies after they slammed his duties at a summit. But partners are still rushing to avert Trumps tariffs altogether. The European Commission said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a good exchange with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.
New Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Data centre surge
MALAYSIA, a small hydrocarbon producer by world standards, is eyeing the new oil of the 21st century: data centres. Glowing bromide hype on such centres match their power demand surge. On Monday, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB Research) said in a thematic note to Business Times that Malaysia is no longer a spillover market from Singapore and that it is a go-to destination for hyperscalers. Johor is partly the reason for the hype. From 10 megawatts (MW) of data centres in 2021, the state grew to 1.3 gigawatts last year, according to media reports. Not so fast, we must say. They are not just guzzlers of water and energy, but gobblers of land, too. Sure, there is ample land, as HLIB Research reckons, but only for now. Even cost competitiveness is under threat with the recent Tenaga Nasional Bhd tariff hike. A Reuters report on July 1 quoted industry and government officials as saying that the new tariff hike would add 10 to 14 per cent to the electricity costs of data centres. According to Gary Goh of Sprint DC Consulting, a data centre advisory firm that the news agency quotes, for a 100 MW facility, that works out to be an additional US$15 to US$20 million per year, not including fuel surcharge. Fuel surcharge is announced by the government every month based on fuel prices and foreign exchange. Goh also said many in the industry were caught unprepared for the scale of increase and that some investors were already on the wait-and-see mode. Be that as it may, Reuters, pointing to a joint report issued in May by Bain & Co, Google and Singapore's state-owned Temasek, said Malaysia is set for the region's fastest surge in data centre power demand, tripling to 21 per cent by 2027 from seven per cent in 2022. Malaysia, committed as it is to tame climate change, is slowly but surely phasing out black gold due to its Earth-warming effect. But data centres aren't exactly problem-free. Think guzzlers and gobblers. According to one estimate, a 100 MW data centre consumes electricity equivalent to what 45,000 households use. A data centre with similar capacity is said to use water equivalent to a 10,000-person city in the calculation of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, an American entity. Malaysia may have enough energy and water for now, but what about in the years to come? Many will argue that the data centres are paying a premium for access to energy and water, but both are drawn from the same sources. As more and more data centres come chasing cheap land and energy, electricity infrastructure and rivers will be stressed beyond their capacity. This is precisely why Singapore imposed a moratorium on data centres between 2019 and 2022. On Jan 5, then natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad admitted in an interview with the Financial Times that data centres had put "a lot of pressure" on Malaysia's energy and water resources. For sure, data centres, especially the hyperscalers, bring in billions of investment dollars, but they come attached with a heavy price tag. Can we afford it? Only if the benefits outweigh the costs.
Malaysia Sun
an hour ago
- Malaysia Sun
Malaysia calls U.S. 25 pct tariff disruptive to business, supply chains
Xinhua 08 Jul 2025, 13:15 GMT+10 KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The imposition of a tariff rate of 25 percent on Malaysian exports to the United States is potentially disruptive to business operations, supply chains, and investment flows that benefit both countries, Malaysia's Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry said on Tuesday. Malaysia is however still committed to negotiations to reach a fair and sustainable outcome for both parties, it said in a statement following a letter by U.S. President Donald Trump addressed to Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. "Malaysia views unilateral measures as potentially disruptive to business operations, supply chains, and investment flows that benefit both countries," it said. "Malaysia strongly believes that together, we can find mutually acceptable solutions that safeguard the interests of both our countries and our peoples, while ensuring that bilateral trade and investment remain a positive force for sustainable economic development," it added. The tariff rate is scheduled to be imposed from Aug. 1, 2025.
