As former President Donald Trump eyes another bid for the White House, he might consider using some exercise equipment made by a top donor with the help of veterans.
Joe Korff, who owns Quaker City Castings in Salem, Ohio, said he has started producing 40-pound kettlebells designed with Trump in mind.
“It’s a collector’s item,” he said of his new creation, which he hopes to present personally to Trump.
His project started recently when his daughter, a fitness advocate and former soldier, told her father that during the COVID-19 crisis, people gobbled up gym equipment and she couldn’t find a kettlebell anywhere.
“We can make the things,” he told her. Then, he decided to include local veterans who paint the kettlebells red, white, and blue.
And while he was at it, Korff also decided to include his favorite politician, so he molded “MAGA” and Trump’s face on the weights and dubbed them “MAGABells.”
Korff, who lives in Florida, said he once met Trump and urged him to run for president, arguing that former presidents had hurt trade and the Rust Belt, issues the former president was focused on changing.
“He’s the only guy that got it. I talked to politicians over the years, and I would say to them, ‘You know, we’re getting killed in trade, you got to do something,’” he said. The response was that Washington wanted to avoid trade wars. But Korff countered, “We’re already in one, we’ve loaded the guns against ourselves and we’re losing. And we’ve lost 80,000 factories in the United States since these plans were implemented, and Trump is the only guy that said, ‘This is ridiculous. Stop it, we’re killing the middle class.’”
His MAGABells are pricey, at over $200, but Korff said he’s also giving some of the money to the vets and a local veterans group.
He is also planning a smaller set of weights — two 22.5-pounders that add up to 45, the number of Trump’s presidency.
What’s more, they come with a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution.
“I don’t expect everybody to buy them. Not everybody understands what the thing is, but I think some Republicans are fitness nuts. I hope it catches their eye. I think it’s a unique product,” he said of the numbered and signed weights.
“I’m hoping that it has a way to reach people, that got something uniquely painted by disabled American veterans, and you’re benefiting them, as well as helping American workers,” said Korff.
