When you see one of the largest political button collections in the world, you will not see Donald Trump’s face.
“Since the introduction of celluloid buttons in 1896, no one has done more damage to this country than Donald Trump,” said Carl Wolfson, former Portland radio host and political junkie.
Wolfson’s collection of more than 25,000 pins, displayed as pop art on high-end art canvases, is a massive historical archive of all candidates for president, governor, US House and Senate, plus a myriad of social and political causes — labor protections, civil rights, peace movements, immigration. With all parties and all sides of an issue represented, it is a snapshot of American democracy.
With one missing picture.
“I don’t think ‘Trump’ and “democracy’ belong in the same sentence,” Wolfson said. “I have buttons for southern segregationists, governors of Indiana and Maine who supported the Ku Klux Klan, demagogues, thieves, and rapscallions who have darkened our past. For sure, nativist messages have long been a part of our landscape. And the purpose of this collection is to highlight history, the bad and good, the shameful and inspirational. But Trump is in a class by himself. His cultlike power is an existential threat to the republic.”
He insists his stand is not political. Wolfson, who hosted “Carl in the Morning” on AM 620 KPOJ and FM 107.1 KXRY from 2007 to 2016 and holds an M.A. in Political Science from UCLA, said he welcomes healthy debate on any issue. “Ours was a progressive show, but I always enjoyed intelligent and respectful interviews with conservative counterparts. Now, even that is gone with the rise of Trumpism.”
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist jokes at the former president’s Madison Square Garden rally also drew Wolfson’s attention. “When you are drawn into Trump’s orbit, decency departs,” he said.
Wolfson began collecting buttons in 1974 while in college. His hobby went into overdrive in 1976, when he volunteered for Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. He has been an active member of American Political Items Collectors (APIC) for half a century.
“Our hobby is made up of historians, teachers, elected officials, political enthusiasts and nerds!” Wolfson said. “We trade and buy in person and online at a voracious pace. I get dozens of packages of buttons delivered each week.”
“So far,” he joked, “my 27-year marriage has survived. Spouses and partners of collectors must have incredible patience.”
Wolfson’s collection outgrew his home a decade ago. “I have completed 446 canvases, which are fully insured and in a safe, climate-controlled storage facility.”
The goal for this historical archive is 30,000 items and more than 700 canvases. “There are new candidates every two years and new passions, like EVs and AI, that move people to pin on a button,” Wolfson said. “Where this collection will be displayed for posterity is my next big challenge.”
“Right now,” he added, “the country’s challenge is preserving democracy.”
