A Trump fan in Bellingham, Massachusetts, is making sure the president’s supporters have all the MAGA hats, pins, and t-shirts they need for the 2020 election.
Forty-six-year-old Keith Lambert said he thought it was a joke at first when Donald Trump announced he was running for president, according to Lauren Young at WickedLocal.com.
“But then all of a sudden, it was real,” he recalled.
As the president’s popularity continued to grow, the long-time novelty merchandiser decided to open several stores offering Trump memorabilia.
Young wrote:
Many customers have visited Lambert’s newly-opened New England for Trump novelty store in Bellingham, including from Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Some drive more than five hours to the location to pick up one of its red “TRUMP 2020” shirts or socks resembling Trump, complete with golden hair attached on his head and a doll-sized green comb.
The New England for Trump pop-up shop’s Facebook page stated that it offers “Tshirts, Hoodies, Flags, Hats, Caps, Banners, Buttons, Pins, Mugs, and much more.”
“We have all your Trump gear needs covered! The word is out and the people have spoken! We set up our stores all over New England, and soon we will be even further into other states across the country,” the page read, adding, “The Silent Majority, wear it proud!”
Lambert first came up with the idea of opening the shops when he sold Trump-themed merchandise at the president’s rally in New Hampshire in August, according to the Sun.
“It was a huge demand, and everybody was wanting the product and they couldn’t get it unless they ordered it online,” he said.
Lambert also opened stores in Wilmington, Easton, Peabody, and Hanover once he determined they were areas where Trump received a lot of votes in 2016.
Now, the store owner donates a portion of the profits to the president’s 2020 reelection campaign. However, the entrepreneur noted that he found Trump inspiring long before he took up residence in the White House.
“It’s pretty amazing to see how he was able to go from getting basically buried to becoming as successful as he was, turning everything around,” he commented.
Lambert told Young that he thought the House’s vote to impeach President Trump would cause his business to slow down, but was surprised when the opposite happened.
“I don’t know if it was the fact that there were more people coming in because of the (impeachment hearings) or the holidays, but we got a huge bump as a result of it,” he said.
When Thomas and Elaine Dupuis heard about the Wilmington location on Facebook, they were excited to visit.
“Nobody has the (guts) to put up a store like this,” said Elaine, who used to vote Democrat.
The couple said they feel frustrated by those who say they do not like the president but fail to offer reasons why.
“All you ever hear them say is the same thing the media says,” Elaine commented. “They never have their own opinions or anything.”
Lambert called his stores a “safe haven” for anyone who feels they cannot express their support for Trump without receiving backlash.
“Everyone that comes in here is just happy and positive. They’re not going to get (any backlash) here — they’re going to get nothing but support and love,” he concluded.