The location of the Trump Superstore in Lenoir, Tennessee, couldn’t be more perfect:
- It’s highly visible from the interstate, the part where I-75 North/South merges with I-40 East/West, a confluence of thousands of cars per minute.
- It’s within a 40-minute drive of two popular Tennessee tourist attractions: Dollywood (down the road in Pigeon Forge) and a Buc-ee’s (if you know, you know).
- It’s a building that we’ll politely say used to be a “romance” store, the kind that sells assorted products to improve your love life.
Where else would you put a business that could provide a status check on the relationship between former President Donald Trump and his MAGA faithful?
A quick stop told this reporter that the love affair is still hot and heavy: It’s sincere, committed, passionate and — depending on your view of Trump — either comically clever or sophomorically stupid.
The store, which opened in April, features plenty of hats and T-shirts (a good three dozen varieties of each). There were an ample number of flags, bumper stickers, mugs and glasses. There were colorful socks. And even a “Trump on the Shelf” Christmas décor item.
But the best-selling object, said the salesperson behind the counter, was none of the above. Rather, it was the “White Privilege” credit card displayed next to the cash register, selling for $6.99.
Few customers can leave without picking a few up, the salesperson behind the counter said.
“We sell out of them as soon as we get them,” he said.
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There’s no hiding the fact that Trump is now a convicted felon.
It’s actually a selling point.
The most popular T-shirt boasted, “I’m voting for the Outlaw and the Hillbilly” — referring to J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate. Another simply said: “I’m Voting for the Felon.”
The second-best-selling T-shirt referenced Trump’s No. 1 campaign issue: immigration.
“Want to make everything electric: Start with the border wall,” it says.
Is this masterful marketing or a message beneath the dignity of the office? Your answer likely will serve as a measure for how you view the slogans on other products, including this one:
“Trump is my President” (with Trump standing next to an image of Jesus).
Of course, nothing is marketed more than the assassination attempt on Trump’s life. The now iconic picture of him with a raised fist and the word, “Fight” can be found on multiple flags, mugs and T-Shirts (all of which went for $24.99).
One had the photo with the words: “Impeached, arrested, convicted, shot: Still Standing.”
Another simply said: “You had your shot: Taking America Back.”
The image also was on a collared shirt — special occasion wear? — that went for $49.99.
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There wasn’t a lot of name-calling.
There were a few “Buck, Fiden,” products, including a flag that had a cartoon version of Trump peeing on a President Joe Biden sign. And there was a picture featuring former President Barack Obama’s supposed statement about “never underestimating Biden’s ability to (mess) things up.”
As for Trump’s current opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, there was a cornhole landing board featuring a “Joe and the Ho Needs to Go” slogan by the door — but it was selling for 20% off, perhaps in an acknowledgement that Biden has left the race.
The biggest bust on Harris was found outside, where a “Harris Superstore” sign was posted on what was made to look like an outhouse.
Also missing were mentions of the women in Trump’s life.
There was a 2×3 poster featuring Trump and the first lady. But that was it.
And there was nothing featuring Ivanka, certainly not the barrage of “Ivanka for President” items that were so prevalent when Trump was in office.
There wasn’t a lot of chatter about the campaign, either.
Trump’s media event in New Jersey on that day wasn’t discussed. Perhaps there was an assumption of where customers stood. Or just the realization that shoppers were moved by passion more than politics.
The salesperson said the store was welcoming to all, even Democrats.
“We’re not the ones who are violent,” he said.
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There were at least a dozen cars in the lot when we arrived. Not bad for after 7 p.m. on a Thursday night. It certainly was a better total than the number seen at the “World’s Largest” fireworks warehouse on the other side of the interstate.
There was plenty of diversity, too — if diversity is defined by having Caucasians of various generations or a mixture of men who have beards and men who don’t have beards.
As for the traditional “DEI” definition, not so much. Though there was a T-shirt available suggesting “Everything Woke Turns to (something found in an outhouse).”
The salesperson said business has been booming since the store opened — but, especially in the month or so since that July day in Butler, Pennsylvania, when there was the attempt on Trump’s life.
“There was a line wrapped twice around the building the next day,” he said, without even the hint of a suggestion that he may (or may not) have been exaggerating the crowd size.
He said the store gets merchandise every 2-3 days — and visitors from around the country on a daily basis, including West Coasters heading East (residents of Washington state have been here, the salesperson said) as well as plenty of New Englanders heading South.
With this type of traffic in the store, it’s easy to see why Trump has the support of approximately 46% of the population in the country (and nearly that much in New Jersey).
The salesperson said everyone who walks in has the same reaction: They are thrilled to find a store such as this, he said.
Surprisingly, the store does not have an e-commerce site.
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Political reporting, done right, is more about the people than the policies. It’s about getting a sense of how the voters feel by meeting them where they are at — rather than just talking to other reporters on TV shows, especially pundits who spend more time on the two coasts rather than Middle America, where votes count just as much.
My wife and I, returning from a college drop-off in Alabama, stopped for two reasons:
- I’m a reporter who loves slice-of-life stories.
- The presence of the store itself went against what we had seen on the trip.
I attended high school and college in Virginia, where my mom still lives. I often vacation in North Carolina. We have two kids in college below the Mason-Dixon line. In other words, we make 2-3 trips a year to the “South” — however you define that area.
This trip was different.
With the exception of the Superstore, we did not see as much support for Trump as we have in the past eight years.
Yard signs and billboards were nonexistent. As were flags on pickup trucks. And the painted signs we used to see on barns visible from the interstate? The only one we saw was supporting the Trump-Mike Pence ticket.
A sign of the times? Who knows?
The salesperson certainly doesn’t feel that way.
I asked him how long the store would be open, offering “November?” in a manner that suggested it was a pop-up store.
He didn’t see it that way.
“We’re planning on being here at least four more years,” he said.
