BuzzFeed trades on Trump diss with ‘failing pile of garbage’ merch

BuzzFeed is building on being dubbed a “failing pile of garbage” by President-elect Donald Trump, with a series of tongue-in-cheek items for sale in its online store that bear the insult. 

The proceeds from the sales of the BuzzFeed merchandise will go to the Committee to Protect Journalists, according to the site.

Trump joined a number of critics lambasting the news site for publishing a privately produced intelligence dossier Tuesday that contained unverified claims about the president-elect’s connections to Russia.

I AM CRYING YOU CAN NOW BUY FAILING PILE OF GARBAGE MERCH FROM https://t.co/0mrVQDjwbF pic.twitter.com/iM6fJ0DLPr

— Kassy Cho (@kassyapple) January 11, 2017

Trump said at a Wednesday press conference in New York that the site is a “failing pile of garbage.” The president-elect added that BuzzFeed would “suffer the consequences” for publishing the document.

{mosads}In response, the outlet unveiled a “Failing Pile of Garbage” store just hours after Trump’s remarks. 

Among the items for sale is a $49 limited edition BuzzFeed garbage can. A description for the receptacle appears to poke fun of Trump’s fondness for superlatives and campaign promises to fight outsourcing: “This garbage can is phenomenal. Absolutely fantastic trashcan. Made of steel—sourced internationally, but will be domestically sourced within the next 4 years.”

Other merchandise includes $5 “I proudly get my news from a failing pile of garbage” and “My bae works at a failing pile of garbage” bumper stickers, along with $30 “failing pile of garbage” t-shirts. 

BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith had defended the publication of the dossier, writing in a memo that although “there is serious reason to doubt the allegations,” the site aims to be “transparent in our journalism and to share what we have with our readers.”

The outlet’s CEO, Jonah Peretti, wrote in an email to staff following Trump’s press conference, telling them that “we are not going to respond to these divisive comments,” and “We are going to keep doing what we do best, which is deliver impactful journalism.”

BuzzFeed isn’t the first media outlet targeted by Trump to brand itself with his attacks. In December, an incensed Trump criticized Vanity Fair after the magazine ran a negative review of a Trump restaurant, inspiring Vanity Fair to describe itself as “the magazine Trump doesn’t want you to read.”