BUFFALO, MINN. – Owned by a Floridian and selling merchandise largely made overseas, Trump Shops are popping up throughout rural Minnesota and neighboring states.
The reason is simple, said Paige McNeal, who manages the Trump Shop her father owns in this Wright County city — as well as about 20 others in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Illinois.
For decades, her family has been in the business of selling political merchandise, McNeal said, and "there's always been a small market every four years.
"But there's never been anything like this."
"This" is President Donald Trump, who's galvanized his supporters with an endless stream of Trump-themed merchandise. The president himself, as well as his campaign, has made millions selling Trump clothing and tchotchkes.
And as veteran political merchandisers, McNeal's family knew a golden opportunity when they saw one.
The Trump Shop shelves are filled with just about any item a Trump-lover could desire. Hats, T-shirts and scarves. Mugs, shot glasses and can koozies. Flags and bumper stickers and watches and Trumpy Bears.
Some of the messages express straightforward support. "Trump: Keeping America Great," reads one hat.
Others are more aggressive. "Trump: Make Liberals Cry Again," reads another.
And some items, including watches and shirts, are emblazoned with an expletive.
The shops are not affiliated with the Trump campaign or the president himself, McNeal said. Trump may make some money from sales of merchandise he's trademarked, but the shops don't pay anything directly to him or his campaign.
"We're small businesspeople, entrepreneurs," she said. "It's what made America great."
In the past few months, Trump Shops have opened in Hutchinson, Wadena, Lino Lakes, Winona, Owatonna and Rochester, as well as in Fargo.
Much of the merchandise is made overseas. Most of the hats come from China, and most of the shirts are from several Central American and Asian countries.
Although the president has often talked about bringing overseas jobs back to America, McNeal said the reality is that overseas suppliers are simply the most readily available sources of these items.
"The fact of the matter is, that's where manufacturing is," she said.
Some buyers even consider the overseas merchandise an incentive to buy, McNeal said.
"They want to support Trump, because he wants to bring manufacturing back," she explained.
At least a couple of the stores have drawn pushback from political opponents of the president. The shop in Waconia closed in June after a brick was thrown through its window. The shop in Fergus Falls sparked controversy last month when social justice activists drew a chalk mural on the sidewalk out front, which the city removed because of an existing policy banning political messaging on public property.
Supporters of the president wear their gear proudly. Leo Amborn of Cokato stopped at the Trump Shop in Hutchinson to buy a hat and planned to come back later for a T-shirt he special-ordered.
"I just want to prove a point, that's what I want to do," he said, explaining his purchases.
His point, he said, is that "Trump is better. I've got in-laws that don't think so, and I want to stand my ground."
John Reinan • 612-673-7402
