Passionate political supporters have found a more permanent way to show their appreciation for candidates than bumper stickers this election season, as tattoo artists have been offering free Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders tattoos, according to The Huffington Post.
Tattoo artists have been battling it out after a New Hampshire tattooist offering free "Trump stamp" Donald Trump tattoos inspired a Vermont-based artist to start offering free inked illustrations of Bernie Sanders. Aartistic Inc., based in Winooski, initially started offering the free Bernie tattoos as cover-ups for the Trump tattoos before extending the policy to any pro-Sanders image, News10 reported.
"We wanted to support him someway and with the caucus coming up there was a rumor that there's a shop in New Hampshire that's giving away Donald Trump tattoos, and we just couldn't have that," Aartistic owner Tyre Duvernay said. "We're getting 5-10 calls a day and there are plenty more on the books."
Other tattoo shops have jumped on board, with Duvernay telling reporters that tattoo shops in Wisconsin, Arkansas, Texas and Georgia contact him to ask permission to replicate the deal, according to The Observer. The other artists want to use the same design as Duvernay, which is an outlined image of Sanders' famous glasses and messy hair.
"The motivation behind this is definitely to become President, but improbably could have offered a free Bernie tattoo here in Vermont and we would be just as busy," Duvernay said. Sanders' popularity is high in Vermont, where he has served as a senator since 2006. As well as spreading Sanders' image, Duvernay is also donating funds to support Sanders' presidential bid, according to The Burlington Free Press.
The Sanders tattoo promotion began last Friday, and Duvernay intends to run it for as long as Sanders is running for president.
