Americans gobsmacked by the outcome of the U.S. presidential election still have an opportunity to vote against Donald Trump with their wallets, and a new app from the Democratic Coalition Against Trump allows them to do just that.
The app, though fairly rudimentary in design, offers a searchable, alphabetical list of companies and businesses with ties to Trump’s business empire, offering a brief description for each. For what it’s worth, the president-elect has an unprecedented number of extragovernmental business ties, a fact that doesn’t seem to trouble him or his supporters one bit. He recently made headlines with the eerily Nixonian declaration that “the president can’t have a conflict of interest.”
Some of the businesses listed have more direct ties than others. Many of the clothing companies on the app for example made the list for carrying items from Ivanka Trump’s clothing line. Some of the companies are also easier to avoid than others; the average consumer might not have difficulties eschewing their Gucci shopping (the flagship store in Trump Tower), but kicking their Starbucks habit (which has locations in Trump Tower) may prove more challenging.
Notable tech-related companies making the list include Amazon (sells Trump’s line of menswear as well as Ivanka’s clothing, shoes and accessories), PayPal (co-founder Peter Thiel has been an outspoken supporter and donor of Trump’s), and Groupon and Sprint (sponsors of “Celebrity Apprentice”).
As Nate Lerner, Executive Director of Democratic Coalition Against Trump told The Huffington Post, “This app is a first step in our larger Boycott Trump campaign, which will feature a unified grassroots movement centered on holding companies and individuals that help Trump in any way accountable.”
So if you’re feeling helpless and afraid after the election as so many Americans are, the Boycott Trump app may provide some small piece of comfort knowing you’re striking a blow, however small, in a place that even someone as obtuse as the orange president-elect can grok: his pocketbook. Grabbing him by the purse, if you will.