x

Politics

Supreme Court to Hear ‘Trump Too Small’ Trademark Case; Man Wants to Trademark Phrase Mocking Trump

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a case in which a man tried to trademark a phrase mocking former President Donald Trump as “too small.”

The Justice Department is supporting President Joe Biden’s once and possibly future rival in urging the court to deny a trademark for the suggestive phrase “Trump too small” that a California man wants to put on T-shirts.

The case will be argued in the fall, one of two disputes on the court’s upcoming agenda that involve Trump or one of his businesses. Government officials said the phrase “Trump too small” could still be used, just not trademarked because Trump had not consented to its use. But a federal appeals court said refusing trademark registration violated free speech rights.

The high court has considered a raft of Trump-related cases in recent years. The justices have dealt with cases about Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2000 election and with his efforts to shield his tax records from Congress and to keep other tax records from prosecutors in New York, among other things.

If the justices are tired of Trump-related cases, however, they aren’t letting on. Just last month, the high court agreed to hear a different Trump-related lawsuit stemming from disputes over what was the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee sued over the Trump administration’s refusal to turn over information about the Trump Organization’s lease of the hotel.

The latest case is unusual in that it has the Biden administration on Trump’s side. The administration is defending government officials’ decision to reject the trademark request from Steve Elster, who tried to register the “Trump too small” phrase.

The phrase is a reference to a memorable exchange Trump had during the 2016 presidential campaign with Florida senator and GOP presidential rival Marco Rubio.

Rubio began the verbal jousting when he told supporters at a rally that Trump was always calling him “little Marco” but that Trump — who says he is 6-feet-3-inches tall — has disproportionately small hands. “Have you seen his hands? … And you know what they say about men with small hands,” Rubio said. “You can’t trust them.”

Trump then brought up the comment at a televised debate on March 3, 2016.

“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,” he said.

Federal law says that a trademark request should be refused if it involves a name, portrait or signature “identifying a particular living individual” unless the person has given “written consent.” But Elster says refusing to register a political slogan criticizing Trump without Trump’s consent violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech clause. Federal law, Elster’s lawyers say, “makes it virtually impossible to register a mark that expresses an opinion about a public figure.”

 

RELATED

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

A Palestinian Baby in Gaza is Born an Orphan in an Urgent Cesarean Section after an Israeli Strike

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Sabreen Jouda came into the world seconds after her mother left it.

NEW YORK  — Monday's opening statements in the first criminal trial of a former American president provided a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Donald Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges on multiple fronts.

ASTORIA – The singer Anastasia visited St.

CHICAGO, IL – This spring, Wrightwood 659 hosts Chryssa & New York, the first museum exhibition in North America in more than four decades to focus on the Greek-born artist Chryssa (1933–2013).

NEW YORK – Greek-American George Patrikis, owner of Ditmars Flower Shop in Astoria, was featured in the New York Times on April 15 about the rise in the cost of a dozen red roses from $60 in 2019 to $72 today.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.