The White House Gift Shop Is Unconnected to the White House ⇥ thedailybeast.com

Rachel Olding, the Daily Beast:

In a sales pitch that absolutely no one has asked for, the White House Gift Shop is selling COVID-19 commemorative coins, emblazoned with slogans like “World vs The Unseen Enemy” and “Everyday HEROES Suited Up.” As the deadly virus continues to kill thousands of people and cripple daily life for most Americans, the privately-run White House store is asking buyers to fork out $100 (reduced from $125!) to commemorate the “historic moment.”

This is exactly the kind of thing that I was thinking of when I wrote that anyone can claim to be an official U.S. government website. The White House Gift Shop sells completely insane collectable coins while giving the impression that it is a government project — there’s even a “USA.gov” logo in the footer. But it is a private company, unaffiliated with the real White House Historical Association shop.