A Single Pro-Trump Email Shook Up an Unlikely Industry

In response to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Sticker Mule co-founder and chief executive officer Anthony Constantino wrote an email with the subject line “Trump 2024” and hit send to every subscriber in his company’s database. The contents of the message had little to do with sticker printing.

Beneath the email’s hero image of a bloodied Trump, his clenched fist in the air, Constantino issued a plea. “I don’t care what your political views are but the hate for Trump and his supporters has gone too far,” he wrote. “Btw, this week, get 1 shirt for $4 (normally $19). I suggest buying one that shows you support Trump.” Abridged versions were posted to the company’s Instagram and X accounts.

In a statement, Constantino wrote that he consulted both “Trump supporting” and “Democrat” advisors. “Almost all tech companies other than Sticker Mule are run by Democrat CEOs that create hostile environments for Trump supporters,” he said. “We gave our customers an opportunity to buy shirts for $4 to support [Trump], or whatever else they want. At the same time we educated the world that Trump supporters have big hearts.”

Political violence is a heavy issue for any business to grapple with. While company leaders may issue internal memos on current events that affect staff well-being or safety, it is not common practice to use a sales and marketing channel to announce support for a candidate.

The email from Constantino did not explicitly denounce political violence. Rather, it conflated an assassination attempt against former President Trump with political hate for his supporters, and called for wider social acceptance of the people who support him.

But Trump’s leading political opponents were quick to denounce the attack. Shortly after the attempt, President Joe Biden posted on X that he was “grateful to hear” the former president was safe and called for Americans to “unite as one nation” to condemn violence.

It prompts the question: Why did a sticker printing company get involved in the discourse surrounding the events of July 13, pick a side, and possibly risk its customer relationships?

A review of company posts on X reveals other political messages nestled among the irreverent, sarcastic posts that established the Sticker Mule brand. On June 27, the Sticker Mule X account used a photo of President Biden from the recent presidential debate to promote its background-removing photo editing tool. On June 21, the account used President Trump’s mug shot, which has become a symbol of his campaign, to promote the same feature.

When asked if employees are welcome to openly share their personal political beliefs at Sticker Mule, Constantino said, “We don’t want people arguing about politics at work. It’s anti-happiness.”

Constantino did not confirm whether the company obtained consent from email subscribers to receive political messages in addition to commercial ones, and the strongly worded pro-Trump email was a surprise to most, including staff. “The overall sentiment seems to be shock and disappointment,” said a current employee of Sticker Mule who asked to remain anonymous. “It was sent without regard for employees.”

Before the viral firestorm, the employee recalls being warned by co-workers not to engage in discussions that could be perceived as critical of Sticker Mule or of Constantino. In 2021, internal discord over a tweet published by the company that some found offensive allegedly led to the firing of six employees.

One of these former employees briefly described the termination in an email, adding that, despite the firing, “Sticker Mule was very good to me.” A company spokesperson declined to respond to questions about the 2021 incident, citing that the company does not comment on personnel issues.

The current employee also described Sticker Mule as a positive work environment, with the notable exception of the co-founder’s online behavior and its effects on morale. Constantino announced bonuses for support staff in a follow-up email to subscribers the day after going viral.

Customers did not hesitate to share their opinions on Sticker Mule. Josh Okrent, founder of the Seattle Punk Rock Flea Market, opted to sever his 12-year relationship with the company. ”I work with hundreds of artists who use stickers,” he said. “I was incensed at that ridiculous email.”

Madison Moorhead McCabe and Jed McCabe, co-founders of Apocalypse, a buy/sell/trade shop in Boulder, Colorado, said the last three years of their shop’s Sticker Mule orders totaled over $10,000. They pulled their business from the company, citing Trump’s “history of removing human rights from distinct groups, specifically women’s reproductive rights and trans rights.” They said, “Although we can align with decrying assassination and violence as a means for resolving our differences, we cannot in good conscience support a vendor that supports Donald Trump.”

Other individuals and business owners sympathetic to Constantino’s message posted in support of Sticker Mule. The account for PublicSquare, a marketplace that supports a network of pro-life businesses, replied on X: “We have 80,000+ patriotic small businesses in our marketplace and we’d love to make sure they know they can use sticker mule for their printing needs without fear of cancellation.”

Sticker Mule competitors are reporting a flood of new customers seeking a better ideological fit. Andrea Lake, founder and chief executive officer of StickerJunkie, said that after launching a “ByeDonkey” promotion, StickerJunkie’s daily orders increased twelvefold overnight. “We believe in respect, kindness, and love. We are huge fans of other women-owned companies, LGBTQIA+ communities, and rad men’s companies too. None of that feels political to us,” she said.

While the Sticker Mule email may have been the first time customers were directly confronted with Constantino’s political views, it was not the first time he used company marketing channels to align his company with right-wing populist icons, sometimes even emulating their cult-of-personality approach to personal branding.

On June 20, Sticker Mule posted a screenshot indicating the @StickerMule X account had been blocked by Elon Musk. On June 21, the company posted a Sticker Mule–branded video of an orange matte Cybertruck. And on June 25, it announced a giveaway of the electric vehicle.

In January, Sticker Mule hosted a free sticker giveaway with Andrew Tate on his Rumble channel. Tate is currently under house arrest in Romania awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, per CNN. Artwork for one of the giveaway stickers pairs Tate’s likeness with the phrase “Resist the Slave Mind.”

When asked if Sticker Mule has a content moderation policy related to hate speech or symbols, a representative confirmed the company prints “all content as long as it’s legal.”

After staff learned Sticker Mule would be launching the promotion with Tate, “people were very upset,” according to the current employee.

“Knowing what I know of [Constantino], and how he treats the diverse group of employees with all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs, he didn’t likely have poor intentions,” the ex-employee wrote. “If I had the chance, I would go back and work for Sticker Mule again.”

Constantino called Sticker Mule “unique as a tech company that created a happy work environment for people from all backgrounds.” Citing “anonymous happiness surveys sent to all employees by a third-party auditor,” he said employee happiness is “incredibly high.”

It remains unclear whether this stunt will benefit Sticker Mule in the long term. Okrent explained why he will not order with Sticker Mule in the future. “I do business with lots of people who I’m sure don’t think like I do. I honestly prefer that they do their job, and don’t shove their politics in my face. We can just go about our business with mutual respect,” he said. “But if you’re making me choose sides, I won’t do business with the guy trying to sell me a Trump shirt.”