The U.S Supreme Court has blocked a Californian man’s attempt to trademark the ‘Trump Too Small’ phrase so he can sell shirts with it.
Steve Elster’s bid to trademark the phrase “Trump Too Small” which he’s been using on t-shirts going for $25 was first rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He then claimed his First Amendment rights had been violated, appealing the case all the way to Supreme Court which ultimately heard the case.
Handing down the judgement on Thursday, June 13, the Supreme Court justices said Elster’s First Amendment rights was not violated because of a documented history of trademarks being rejected when they include names of living persons without consent.
The phrase was derived from Trump’s beef with Marco Rubio during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump had called Rubio “little Marco” and he responded by saying, “Have you seen his hands? And you know what they say about men with small hands.”
Trump punched back in a 2016 debate, telling viewers “Look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands, if they’re small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee you.”