It’s perhaps a bad time to be selling MAGA merch. A Trump Superstore located in Knoxville, Tennessee is going out of business, and it’s not a coincidence. Business hasn’t been looking great lately, and a man who works a the store told Slate that he think it’s because of President Donald Trump’s “dwindling” popularity, especially among Republican voters who are struggling in this economy.
When speaking to the news outlet, the shop’s owner, Bill, and a part-time employee named Dan acted like something had shifted in recent months. People once seemed excited about purchasing Trump-themed merch, but now, the store is not exactly busy. Everything is on sale as the store prepares to close its doors.
Bill made it very clear that the store is closing due to “lack of business” and not any other reason.
Welp. Interestingly, a local outlet called Knox News previously reported that the store was closing simply because its owner was retiring. But Bill denied this when speaking to Slate. He acted like he had no idea where the reporter even got this information, but speculated that perhaps the writer didn’t want to be fully transparent about what’s actually happening. Because in reality, the store is struggling. People just aren’t shopping for MAGA merch like they used to.
“The girl that reported that did not know what she was talking about,” Bill said when questioned about the report that he planned on retiring. He added, “I don’t think she wanted to say we were closing for lack of business, but that’s why we’re closing.”
The shop sells all kinds of MAGA-themed merch, like T-shirts, stickers, bobbleheads, and hats, among other things. But people have seemingly lost interest in buying it.
Dan said he think it’s because Republicans are really struggling right now.
The store has attracted huge crowds on several occasions, including after Charlie Kirk was killed and after the first assassination attempt against Trump. “The first time that they tried to assassinate him was huge,” Dan told the publication. He described it as “unbelievable” and said “people were waiting to walk in the door.”
Now, though, people are not shopping as much. “You can see more and more Republicans are not happy with their life situation,” Dan said. “People really are saying, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to do a full load of groceries or I’m going to put my electric bill on a credit card this month.'”
Of course, given that people are struggling financially right now, they probably have less spending money for MAGA merch. So, if they had the money, perhaps they’d still be buying it. But it’s also possible that they just don’t want it anymore.
On Reddit, Trump critics joked that the store doesn’t have to go out of business. A few commenters offered some advice. “They should switch over to an anti-Trump store. That’s where the money is,” one person wrote. And someone else said, “If they would sell toilet paper with his face on it, they’d be back in business.”
The fact that the store is going out of business due to Trump’s “dwindling” popularity didn’t necessarily surprise the president’s critics, but they were happy, nonetheless.
Obviously, lots of people have tried to make money off of Trump merch.
Including the Trump family themselves. The Trump Store website, which is the Trump Organization’s retail site, sells tons of Trump-themed merchandise, including MAGA caps priced at $55. It’s unclear how the store is doing at the moment.
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