In a Nutshell

*A vendor was selling "Impeach 45" apparel on Walmart's website.

*Many supporters of President Trump have called for a boycott of the retail giant in response.

President Trump supporters are calling for a boycott of Walmart, after they discovered a line of “Impeach 45” apparel on the retail giant’s website this week. As of early afternoon Tuesday, the trending hashtag #BoycottWalmart already appeared in more than 37,600 tweets.

The range of products with the incendiary message was posted to Walmart’s marketplace by Old Glory, a Centerbrook, CT-based vendor. By Tuesday afternoon, all “Impeach 45” items had been pulled from the website, however.

Allowing the “Impeach 45” apparel on its marketplace was a risky move, an expert told USA Today, due to the quantity of Trump supporters who shop at Walmart. “Walmart lit the torch of war with the base of Donald Trump. To attack the president is the kiss of death,” said Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants.

Ryan Fournier, chairman of Students for Trump, was one of the first to notice the shirts on Walmart’s site.

.@walmart why are you selling Impeach 45 baby clothes on your website?????

What kind of message are you trying to send? https://t.co/PwI4nCVAZx

— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) July 3, 2018

But the call for a boycott quickly picked up steam on Twitter.

Do you want to be boycotted? Because this is how you get boycotted. #BoycottWalmart pic.twitter.com/1WhsCUequx

— Kat Ainsworth (@KatAinsworth2A) July 3, 2018

Other users pointed out that Walmart has often been an equal-opportunity offender, selling a number of shirts that appealed to Trump’s base.

It’s amazing how MAGA folks are calling for the #BoycottWalmart because they’re selling a t-shirt with Impeach Trump on it.

When they were the same people celebrating Walmart once for selling Hillary for prison t-shirt.

Well, just so you know, nobody gonna #BoycottWalmart

— Ambassador Rob (@RobertoWinsSher) July 3, 2018

Walmart has indicated on Twitter that the offending items were sold by a third party and not offered directly by Walmart. They’ve been removed from the site, and the company is currently reviewing its marketplace policies.

These items were sold by third-party sellers on our open marketplace and were not offered directly by Walmart. We’re removing these types of items pending review of our marketplace policies.

— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) July 3, 2018

This isn’t the first time Walmart has stirred controversy over its apparel selection. Last year, the company removed T-shirts that espoused the pro-lynching sentiment: “Rope. Tree. Journalist. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.”