I’ll make this short (promise) and sweet. After a less than restful night’s sleep I woke up feeling “blah” knowing the things that would dominate the news. Serious, deeply troubling things to think, talk and write about were on the agenda. Then, when I turned on the news I also fired up my laptop. Lo and behold I saw something that brought a smile to my face – The ‘Trump Store’ in Benselam, Pennsylvania has seen sales plummet since Trump was sworn in a year ago. So they’re going out of business!
Yep, they had a pretty good run for over five years but it seems Trump getting back into office was about the worst thing that could happen for the store. ETTD. I checked and quite a few news outlets have covered this story this week which isn’t surprising. Benselam is in Bucks County and it’s one of those ‘swingy’ bellweather counties in Pennsylvania. For years the Trump Store did a brisk business but as this article from WHYY tells us sales have plummeted, kind of I guess like Trump’s approval ratings!
The Trump Store, which sells hats, flags, T-shirts and other items in hotly politically contested Bucks County, posted on social media that its storefront will be closing at the end of the month.
Owner Mike Domanico said in a phone interview Tuesday that he’s closing the store because he’s focusing on another business, selling firearm targets and other items at gun shows, and he’s semi-retired. But the closure is also an acknowledgement that business has slowed down.
“The store has kind of run its course,” he said. “You know, it’s been six years and the elections are over. Trump’s not gonna be in another election, even though he’ll be part of it.”
I promised to keep this short but I can’t resist tossing a couple of things out there. The linked article and others point out that this place has been pushing Trump 2028 junk. Even the owner says Trump can’t/won’t run again and that the 2028 gear is just a way to tweak people. “Own the libs” and all that I guess. It seems that no one is buying in an almost literal sense. Plus, Trump has his own website selling such stuff and the same items we’ve all become used to seeing. Hats, t-shirts, coffee mugs etc. While the Trump Store once did a brisk business it’s clear that in Bucks County at least any MAGA goobers that want to buy Trump merchandise want to do so directly from Trump. What I think is funny is that it almost certainly costs more to buy on Trump’s website than in this strip-mall store!
As you might expect since the announcement of the closing and going out of business sale the snark has been rolling in. The article does cite an 81 year old Trump supporter who in a phone interview said his first purchase at the store back in 2020 was a Veteran’s For Trump hat. He said he’s not surprised the Trump Store is closing. It’s a quite short article but I get the sense he had an ‘oh well… moving on’ attitude and wasn’t all teary eyed about the store’s demise. I did get a kick out of something he said that was the last line of the story:
Asked if he’d go back for any final sales items, Russell laughed and said no. “I am so loaded up with Trump stuff. I don’t need anything.”
File that away in the back of your mind. That part about already being loaded up with Trump stuff. If MAGAs are thinking that way in significant numbers Trump might be worse off politically than we know. This isn’t the only such store with the same or a quite similar name in the country. Keep an eye out because if more close, if more MAGAs have developed a ‘I’ve spent enough on Trump’ attitude like I said Trumpty is in ‘bigly’ trouble. As will be the GOP in general.
Anyway, a totally Trump establishment has seen its sales tank in the past year and can’t afford to keep the doors open any longer. Learning that sure brought a smile to MY face. Enough I decided to tell you about it so you can have something to smile about too.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Will they enjoy gifts like tRump butt plugs:
https://www.etsy.com/market/trump_buttplug
Trump is indeed unique. One of a kind. The only combination asshole and butt plug ever. (One could say so is Stephen Miller but I disagree. He’s a combination asshole and slime-eel. (they often enter their prey, usually large fish via the rectum)
I needed something to make me smile today. Thank you for the story.
At least some good will come for everything left unsold.
After all “he’s focusing on another business, selling firearm targets and other items at gun shows”.
I can’t think of a better fate for the ‘merchandise’.