Sales skyrocket for Philly Jewish museum’s ‘Yo Semite’ shirt after Trump mispronounces national park

"YO SEMITE" T-shirt at NMAJH Store
Photo credit National Museum of American Jewish History Store/Sarah Lefton
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — First “bigly,” then “covfefe,” now this.
Last week, President Donald Trump made headlines for fumbling over the pronunciation of Yosemite National Park, calling it “Yo-Semite.”

President Trump speaks about Yosemite and the Grand Canyon in remarks about national parks https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/HNeydMT9BJ

— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 4, 2020

The blunder, of course, went viral, but the National Museum of American Jewish History is profiting from the mishap.

The museum, located at the corner of Fifth and Market streets on Independence Mall, responded with a link to some of its more applicable merchandise: a T-shirt that reads “YO SEMITE.”

Gaze upon Yo-semite’s towering Sequoias with our "Yo Semite" t-shirt! ---- Get 'em while they're hot: https://t.co/PGNaXqbiwi #Yosemite pic.twitter.com/TXxs5nJ1oR

— National Museum of American Jewish History (@NMAJH) August 4, 2020

According to a museum spokesperson, unprecedented sales from the “YO SEMITE” shirt “have exceeded our prior three months of overall store sales, combined.”

The humorous shirt, featuring text in log-like lettering and two trees above it, was inspired by designer Sarah Lefton’s day job at a Jewish summer camp near Yosemite National Park. The shirt has been available in the museum’s store since 2011.

The National Museum of American Jewish History, which opened its 100,000-square-foot location in 2010, filed for bankruptcy in March.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reported the museum’s store made $30,000 from the shirt in the first 30 hours after Trump’s flub.