> In Trump’s Second Term, the MAGA Merchandise Boom Is Going Bust

BOONES MILL, Va.—Donald “Whitey” Taylor made a fortune from sales at Trump Town USA, his store selling Make America Great Again apparel and memorabilia related to President Trump. 

Taylor’s Boones Mill store—a former church—brought in upwards of $15,000 a day in 2024, the best sales pace in the business’s 11-year history, he said. But more than a year into Trump’s second term, sales have sunk. Taylor, 76 years old, said he now averages just $1,500 a day, a slump he attributes to customers’ struggles with higher gas prices due to the Iran war and persistent inflation.

“You get used to good money, and you still want to make it,” said Taylor, reflecting on the hundreds of patrons a day who used to bustle through his store aisles. “Today, the economy is just not worth a crap anymore.”

Customers also stopped buying new merchandise because they felt they had already done their part in getting the president elected to a second term, he said.

Many MAGA-centered merchandise retailers and their suppliers are seeing sales dwindle, according to interviews with wholesalers, sales representatives, business owners and employees. As the president’s approval rating hovers near all-time lows, imperiling Republicans’ control of Congress, store owners blame a stagnant economy and weaker MAGA enthusiasm for lower sales. Some stores are closing permanently. 

The Trump Store Manchester shut its doors recently, citing weak sales and high operating expenses due to increased rent and advertising costs, according to an employee. In the store’s final days, steep discounts to clear inventory didn’t draw a flood of customers. Only about 12 customers a day frequented the Manchester, Tenn., store’s final 72 hours, the employee said. 

Suppliers have adjusted their inventory to reflect weaker Trump merchandise sales. 

Quan Ngo helps operate NT Souvenir Wholesale, a Washington, D.C.-based souvenir supplier that sells ornaments, magnets and political merchandise of both Republican and Democratic politicians to businesses throughout the country. 

Ngo said he knew Trump would win in 2024 after sales of merchandise supportive of the president dominated those in support of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. He said politics doesn’t drive his business; money does. And because of weak sales, he has cut back on purchasing Trump merchandise and lets inventory—much of which is made in China—run low. 

“We don’t make decisions off of emotions, we make them off of certainty and whether there is a demand,” he said. “We’ve ordered less Trump merchandise because demand is down.” 

https://www.wsj.com/politics/in-trumps- … t-725bc43a