A Rhode Island man wanted to surprise his wife with a pricey, limited-edition Trump watch. But it turned into another type of surprise. The $640 timepiece arrived with an embarrassing typo — it read “RUMP” instead of “TRUMP.”
Buyer’s Remorse
Tim Petit said he was lured to buy the watch after hearing a radio ad featuring what he believed was the former president’s voice promoting watches from GetTrumpWatches.com. GetTrumpWatches.com is a site claiming to sell officially licensed Trump memorabilia. Petit purchased a pink “Inauguration First Lady” model as a gift for his wife, Melanie.
Well, it wasn’t the gift he expected to give. His wife was the first to notice the typo when the watch arrived.
“I noticed it right away,” Melanie told NBC 10 News. “The ‘T’ is missing. It just says R-U-M-P. How could they process this and go through something without checking their work?”
She addd, “It has a nice little case. But now it’s a $640 Rump watch.”
Tim said the product had been promoted as “one of 250,” which was part of its appeal. “I wanted to do a special thing for her,” he said. “And we expected that it would have the integrity of the President of the United States and good follow-through.”
GetTrumpWatches.com states on its website that its products are “not political” and “not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates.” Still, the site promotes the watches as officially licensed and features Trump-themed packaging and promotional content, including the slogan “It’s Trump Time.”
After being unable to get a response from the retailer, the couple contacted NBC 10. Within hours, the company reportedly reached out and promised a replacement — one with all its letters intact.
Still, the original botched watch has taken on a life of its own online. Twitter users wasted no time turning the typo into viral fodder.
“Right underneath RUMP, it says, ‘Made in China,’” one user posted.
“Honestly, this makes the watch worth more now. One of a kind!” another wrote, comparing it to misprinted coins that turn into collector’s gold.
Others were less sympathetic to the watch buyer: “Lol yeah and now everyone knows they spent $640 on a Chinese-made Trump watch.”
Another wrote in reference to Petit’s saying he expected the watch “would have the integrity” of the president, “Spoiler alert: it DOES have the integrity of the president of the Inited States. #RUMP”
For now, Melanie says she’ll keep the original, flawed watch. “It’s funny, but also frustrating,” she said. “We just didn’t expect this kind of mistake from something claiming to carry the Trump name.”
mqd4wg