Trump store making merchandise 'great again'

KTRK logo
Friday, October 19, 2018
Store in Arizona sells all sorts of Trump merchandise

SHOW LOW, Arizona (KTRK) -- This small-town store is doing some big business, and it's not hard to figure out why.

"I love everything in here," customer Sherry Juarez said.

Welcome to The Trumped Store and Cafe in Arizona, the only brick-and-mortar business of its kind in the entire country.

Everyday customers from across the country stop in to show their support for the president and take home something that says Trump.

A bedazzled hat.

An "adorable deplorables" T-shirt.

How about a "Make Your Birthday Great" again card?

You can even get your picture taken with White House Press Secretary Sara Huckabee Sanders.

"To wear a hat, or to wear a shirt just makes me feel really good, because I am a very conservative Republican," customer Mary Lou Dezeeuw said. "I like people to know that's who I am, and I feel proud to wear it."

The owners of the Trump Store are Karen MacKeon and Steve Slaton.

Back in 2016, they ran northeastern Arizona's Trump headquarters as volunteers, and couldn't help but notice the incredible demand for all things Trump, even after the election.

They decided to create a year-round business of all things Trump.

"In the beginning, we started with just a few tables, a couple of T-shirts and some hats," Slaton said. "Now we have 27 T-shirts and 28 hats and a variety of different products that people just love."

The business took off even more after their store was vandalized last year.

"After that, it just exploded," MacKeon said. "People came up from the Valley the entire weekend. We were packed with people, and from then on we knew we had something that people wanted."