Since the start of the 2016 presidential race, the American public hasn’t agreed on much. But one thing has become increasingly apparent: People sure like talking about Donald Trump. Which is why local entrepreneur Kyle Waring (the guy who brought us ShipSnowYo and ShipFoliage) has developed an emoji app, called Trumpoji, that will let us incorporate a little more Trump into our everyday text conversations.
As Waring put it in an email, “I built a great emoji keyboard – nobody builds emoji keyboards better than me, believe me... It’s a terrific app that works on all iPhones big and yuge. Mark my words."
He may not be the first person to develop Trump-centric emojis. However, he is trying to develop the best.
“The platform is meant to make emojis great again.”
“The platform is meant to make emojis great again,” he said. “People are just putting up crap.”
For about 6 months, Waring has worked with Apple to develop a paid app for the App Store. It launched this week and is available for $2.99. The Trumpojis available through the app are a take on the standard emojis you’ve come to love, like a smiley face or the tongue-out expression, only they’re all using Trump’s face - complete with combover, pouty lips and bushy eyebrows.
But as Trump became more and more controversial, so did Trumpojis. In fact, there were some of them that were too controversial for Apple to allow on his app. For example, Waring mentioned one called “Border Control”, which is simply a brick wall with the top of Trump’s hair poking over the top.
“They didn’t like the fact that they were referencing real-world, controversial issues,” he shared.
That didn’t prevent Waring from making these hot-button Trumpojis available. Instead of incorporating them into the app, he has made them accessible for free download on his site.
“Personally, the Oompa Loompa is my favorite,” he said. “I don’t know how I’d use it in chat, but it makes me crack up every time I see it.”
He mentioned he was also a fan of the Trump wearing sunglasses because it’s “thug life.”
“People get a laugh out of it. People may love or hate Donald Trump, but they love to talk about him. So the app helps them evolve conversation in a fun, creative way.”
Image via Kyle Waring.
