Whether or not his steak's for sale, Trump's brand thrives

Trump ostensibly displayed the items to refute Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee who last week said of Trump: "A business genius he is not."

The steaks at the press conference appeared to be from the butcher that supplies the club at the golf course, and not Trump Steaks, a now-defunct brand once sold by The Sharper Image.

The Trump-branded water, sold at Trump's hotels and clubs, was not Trump Ice, his defunct bottled water business.

The products, noted Becker, founder of TigressPR, "either are not available for purchase — steaks no longer offered by Sharper Image," or are "aimed at an internal audience — water and magazines for resort guests."

Trump champions the self-made man theme in America, one who perseveres against all odds, with struggles and trials — failed casinos and failed marriages — but has a dream — emblazoned in his name everywhere — to succeed against all odds.

[...] since it's not unusual for entrepreneurs to experience "hits and misses," Frisch said there may be a benefit in "highlighting his grand ideas, the same thought process that has inspired soaring, well-appointed towers, lush golf clubs and, yes, a run for the highest office."