The Trump Files: Watch the Trump Vodka Ad Designed for a Russian Audience

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Until the election, we’re bringing you “The Trump Files,” a daily dose of telling episodes, strange but true stories, or curious scenes from the life of GOP nominee Donald Trump.

In the mid-2000s, Donald Trump licensed his name—in exchange for about half the profits—to a high-priced line of vodka that came in a distinctive gold bottle. Though Trump doesn’t drink, he praised the “smooth” and “great-tasting vodka,” which was produced by a Dutch distillery. “I don’t know if it tasted so good,” the distillery’s manager told Bloomberg earlier this year. “I’m not a vodka drinker.” One of the markets Trump Vodka targeted was Russia. Given the vast quantities of vodka Russians legendarily consume every year, it seemed like a business no-brainer. In 2007, Trump and his partners attempted to make a splash in the Russian market with a grand premier at something called the Moscow Millionaire’s Fair (an annual event for millionaires to market the latest in luxury goods). To promote the booze, the brand’s marketing team put together a bizarre video featuring images of Trump, the Kremlin, tigers (for some reason), and, uh, Vladimir Lenin (who probably would not have had a high opinion of Donald Trump).

It was all downhill from there for Trump Vodka, whose parent company was later sold off and repurposed to market Mexican-themed liquors.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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