The Trump campaign is saving on design costs. After former President Donald Trump announced freshman Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, his campaign updated its website and a campaign plane with the new Trump-Vance logo. Preprinted signs with the new logo hadn’t been prepared for attendees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Monday, so attendees wrote “Vance” on signs themselves. Not to miss a fundraising opportunity, an email went out Tuesday offering a chance to buy the first-ever Trump-Vance tees.

The logo truly hasn’t changed much. In fact, it’s basically identical to the Trump-Pence logo of the last Presidential cycle, with the exception of two letters (and a number). The 2024 campaign only had to swap out the “P and E” from “Pence,” replacing them with a “V and A” to spell “Vance”—and add the numeral “4” as an update to “2020.”

That Trump’s campaign would opt for a light-touch brand “refresh” rather than a full-on rebrand is to be expected. Presidential campaigns tend to stick with the same design elements in their visual identities over multiple campaign cycles, as Trump and President Joe Biden have done. Not to mention the fact that the style of Trump’s logo—his last name in a bold sans-serif font encased in a rectangle with stars pinned to the top—has become a visual signifier for Trump-aligned candidates down ballot. There’s a lot of brand equity in that Trump logo.

The Trump 3.0 brand

While the Trump-Vance logo may look familiar, Trump’s brand is in a wholly unique place. His campaign’s newest brand signifiers are made with unprecedented visuals, including Trump’s mugshot, a first for a major-party nominee and taken in connection with his efforts to overturn election results in Georgia. And now photos from the assassination attempt against him near Butler, Pennsylvania, are available on unofficial pro-Trump shirts. Together they signify strength and defiance to Trump’s supporters.

The Trump campaign’s latest digital fundraising ads use graphics of Trump with his fist raised and an American flag in the background. They feature slogans to donate, such as “Fear Not” and “Support Trump,” parlaying an assassination attempt into a marketing opportunity.

On paper, it’s a rather dark brand shaped by criminal convictions, shattered norms, and political violence. The Trump campaign even introduced a secondary black-and-white “Never Surrender” logo in June that coincided with developments in his criminal conviction.

And yet, the candidate Trump presented at this year’s Republican convention so far has been upbeat and positive. At the convention’s first night Monday, Trump appeared, with a bandage over his right ear, to applause, and the evening’s programming included a video compilation of Trump’s rallies “dancing.” There’s a clear, sharp divide in how Americans view Trump. On one side he’s a folk hero; on the other, he’s an historic threat to democracy.

The significance of the Trump-Vance logo

The Trump-Vance logo could influence the look of Republican politics for years to come. Former running mates often take elements from presidential campaign logos to their future campaign branding, as Biden’s logo is an intentional homage to former President Barack Obama’s O logo. Even Mike Pence took a softer, more traditionally conservative take on Trump’s logo for his own presidential campaign.

Though Vance was once a vocal Trump critic, he’s now an heir to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political legacy, and his aesthetic has aligned for the job. Vance, who once referred to himself as a “never-Trumper,” dressed like Trump in a blue suit and red tie when he went to support him at the Manhattan courthouse during his hush money trial earlier this year, and Vance’s last name is now rendered in the same font as Trump’s. Don’t be surprised if a future 2028 Vance campaign borrows the look of Trump’s logo to tie itself to Trump’s legacy. It might even help save on design costs.