Voting at the Ballot Box and in the Marketplace During the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

Although Donald Trump’s celebrity status may have helped him win the presidency, the prominence of his family’s brand in the marketplace also presented those opposed to his politics with a tangible form of protest. During the election campaign, for instance, professional athletes such as LeBron James refused to stay at Trump hotels (Vardon, 2016). People could also boycott the Trump brand and companies that conducted business with the Trump family. In fact, after the “Access Hollywood” tapes were released, online campaigns such as #GrabYourWallet and a “BoycottTrump” app encouraged people to boycott retailers, such Amazon and Nordstorm, that carried the Trump family brand (Walters, 2016). To be sure, the use of boycotts in a political context was not new (Breen, 2004). However, these boycotts were unique because they blurred the boundaries between electoral and nonelectoral political participation; people could protest Trump’s candidacy at the ballot box and in the marketplace.