Sales take a hit at ‘Trump Town’ merch store as shoppers voice frustration over president’s policies

Video Ad Feedback Trump merch that once flew off the shelves is 'not selling like it was' 5:32 • Source: CNN Trump merch that once flew off the shelves is 'not selling like it was' 5:32 Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Boones Mill, Virginia —  At Whitey Taylor’s Trump Town, the heavy, chrome-dipped “Trump balls” were a big draw in December 2023 as the former president campaigned to take back the White House. On a return visit in September, well into Trump’s second term, the balls came in a new XL size. But fewer people were coming in to see them.

Sales are down in the whole store, an Aladdin’s Cave of Trump memorabilia from shot glasses and bobbleheads to ice-makers and balls to dangle from a truck hitch.

“There’s less stuff coming from China,” Taylor said. The overseas suppliers just weren’t making as much new and varied merchandise based on the latest Trumpisms. “It’s not selling like it was,” he explained, as he scanned a table of buttons, stickers and keychains that mostly commemorated Dolly Parton, America’s 250th anniversary, and Charlie Kirk. (Taylor said he’d diversified a bit.) At the peak, Taylor said, “We had a lot of $12,000 days, maybe a $15,000 day occasionally.” Now? “Well, 1,500, 2,000 bucks. We sometimes hit $3000.”

Taylor attributes some of the dropoff to the success of his store, located at a busy highway intersection in the tiny town of Boones Mill in southern Virginia. “Most everybody that comes, they’ve already got 10 Trump hats, five flags, and whatever else,” he said.

Trump Town USA is packed with all things Trump, but now there is also Dolly Parton memorabilia and items celebrating the US’s 250th anniversary. CNN There is still a flow of fans coming in to buy Trump stuff. But amid the president’s record-low approval ratings, even his customers are wrestling with some dissatisfaction in the policies and their personal attachment to the president.

“I’m disappointed in the fuel prices,” Stevie Lovell, a friend of Taylor, said when he stopped by the store. “I’m not a supporter of the war in Iran,” he said, comparing it to the Iraq war and how “we found out we shouldn’t have been there, either.”

Lovell went on to say, “This thing that’s going on in Gaza is horrible. I think it’s more horrible than what’s going on in Iran, personally.” On top of that, he’d heard a news report that Trump had made more money in office than any other previous president. “It bothered me a little bit,” Lovell said.

Despite all that, Lovell said, “I’m still a Trump fan. I don’t agree with him all the way, but I don’t agree with my pastor all the way.”

Stevie Lovell reeled off a list of concerns but said he would still be voting for the Republican ticket. CNN What is so delicious about a Trump store is it’s full of physical objects that represent abstract political ideas. Many items had used Trump’s mug shot or the photo of him pumping his fist after an assassination attempt. It had taken longer to move canned cow farts that referenced a comment from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about global warming, but Taylor did eventually sell them. Recently, Taylor said, “college girls” were most likely to buy flags that showed Trump in front of the White House under the pink words, “DADDY’S HOME.” You can track which ones resonate most with what kind of people by looking at how much they sell and to whom. Less seems to be resonating now.

When CNN visited in December 2023, several customers said they wanted Trump to bring some relief from the financial pressure they felt from inflation. In interviews in 2026, people said relief hasn’t come.

Video Ad Feedback Mugshots, onesies and Trump's balls: What sells in the Trump Town USA megastore 5:00 • Source: CNN Mugshots, onesies and Trump's balls: What sells in the Trump Town USA megastore 5:00 Two-thirds of Americans say Trump has made the economy worse, and majorities say the Iran war and tariffs have hurt them financially, according to a September CNN poll.

That same frustration with Trump’s major policies was voiced by Trump store shoppers, except some were reluctant to blame Trump himself.

Jamie Varela said she wanted to buy healthy food for her two teenagers but sometimes felt like “you’ve got to choose fruit or gas.” Her monthly grocery bill was between $800 and $1,000, she said. Asked if she thought Trump had some responsibility for those high prices, Varela said, “Yes, because of the war.”

Still, she thought the war in Iran was necessary. America is a big target, Varela said. “I’m sure we’ll see war here on American soil because, like I said, everyone’s gunning for us. So, it’s not really Trump’s fault. He’s just making it known to people that we’re not going to back down.”

Jamie Varela said she wanted people to be kinder to each other, even if they disagreed. CNN Varela said she hadn’t decided who she’d vote for in the midterm elections.

Maria Martin, who was working at the cash register, hadn’t decided who to vote for either. Customer Barbara Keith said she always votes but didn’t want to reveal who she was picking this time. A resident of South Carolina, Keith said she wasn’t sure Darline Graham, who was appointed to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham as senator, had enough political experience.

“What I don’t understand is how can we make agreements with like Venezuela, and yet the gas prices are still up. What’s going on there?” Keith said. Asked what she thought was going on, Keith said,” I don’t think it’s Trump’s fault. “Everybody blames Trump for everything, and yet it’s not just one man making all the rules and laws and everything. It’s a whole bunch of people.”

Items commemorating the second inauguration of President Trump inside Trump Town USA. CNN Keith said she thought grocery prices would never come down, because businesses saw customers would pay higher prices. Asked about Trump’s campaign promise to lower those prices, Keith said “every politician” breaks their promises.

She said she was putting no faith in Trump’s pledge to give every American $5,000 if Republicans keep control of Congress in the midterms, simply stating, “all politicians lie.”

Trump’s appeal was once that he was not a politician, but an outsider. But Keith said, “They all become salesmen, and they’ll lie to get you to their votes. It doesn’t matter which side. You got to pick the worst of both evils.”

She did make her choice as a customer, and exited the store with a new Trump-face-shaped “end the wokeness” ice cube maker.

CNN’s Samantha Guff and Deb Brunswick contributed to this story.