This Gun Was Personally Made for President Trump
An old friend of Donald Trump has made a customized handgun for the 45th president of the United States.
Welder Jesse James is perhaps best known as the star of “Monster Garage,” an early-2000s reality TV show where he and his crew went to work customizing cars and motorcycles.
Several years later, after appearing on the Trump-hosted reality show “The Celebrity Apprentice,” he became friends with the real estate magnate.
Now, James has designed a .45-caliber handgun specifically for Trump, and on the front of of the firearm, he engraved a message for the president.
In an interview last month with Maxim, James — who founded the company Jesse James Firearms Unlimited — revealed that as soon as he knew Trump would win the 2016 presidential election, he decided he wanted to do something special for his friend.
“Besides us being friends and me building guns for a living, as soon as I knew he was going win, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going build him a gun,'” James said.
He was influenced by Harry Callahan’s .44 Magnum from the 1971 film “Dirty Harry.”
“Dirty Harry always had that long .44 Magnum,” James said. “So it seemed kind of obvious that we should do a .45 caliber since he’s the 45th president, right?”
James also described why the the firearm — which is engraved with the words “Donald J. Trump” on one side and says “The 45th President of the United States of America” on the other — is unique.
“It’s all relief engraved and 24-karat gold plate. The model is a JJFU Grand Master X. The handmade case is local Texas Pecan and Walnut,” he said.
“The box uses wood from one of George Washington’s original 13 Chestnut trees to inlay ‘DJT’ and ’45th’ inside. It’s got a longer than normal 1911 frame and a two piece Slide & Compensator.”
James didn’t mention it in the Maxim interview, but emblazoned on the muzzle of the gun is the phrase, “Build That Wall,” a reference to Trump’s campaign promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
James did not seem to be certain of how he will give Trump the gun, though he does want to ensure that the president can keep it once he is out of office.
“I could sell it to him so he could own it,” James suggested. Though some “governor” friends of the welder have suggested that he go to the White House and present the firearm to Trump in person, he’s concerned that Trump won’t be able to actually use it.
“Then it becomes property of the people and it’ll go to the (presidential) library when he’s not president anymore, which I guess is cool for the gun because it’ll be on display, but I kind of think he should keep it and shoot it, because it’s an awesome gun,” James said.
In a separate interview with Guns.com, James noted that he has not yet spoken with Trump about the gun.
Likewise, Trump has yet to publicly address the customized firearm, though the president has come out strongly in favor of gun rights, as reported by Newsweek.
Trump is not the only celebrity James has made a gun for.
He has also built customized firearms for musicians Eric Clapton and Jimmy Vaughn, and Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. James told Maxim he was working on a pair of pistols for musician Kid Rock.
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