By David Chipakupaku, news reporter

US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has raised nearly $500,000 (£411,000) from selling plastic straws.

The straws, which are "laser-engraved" with the president's surname, have been on sale since 19 July, with the first batch selling out within a few hours.

The plastic straws have so far pulled in $460,000 (£378,000) according to Mr Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale.

The description on the website says that more environmentally-friendly "liberal" paper straws "don't work".

Mr Parscale said the idea for the Trump straws came to him when a paper straw he was using to drink iced tea ripped in half.

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On Twitter, Mr Pascale said he hoped to see Mr Trump's supporters using the straws, ending his tweet with the hashtag "#MakeStrawsGreatAgain".

The plastic straws cost $15 (£12.33) for a packet of 10 and the campaign site says they are reusable and recyclable.

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Money raised from the sale of the plastic straws will be used by Mr Trump's team as he aims to be re-elected to the White House for a second term in 2020.

Paper straws are becoming more popular following campaigns to reduce single-use plastic usage from organisations suRead More – Source

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