GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Where Trump goes, they go. Where he stops, they stop, too, and set up shop.
Fresh off his record-long acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, former president Donald Trump will visit Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Saturday, holding his first rally since surviving the attempt on his life last weekend. His first, too, since naming JD Vance as his running mate.
On street corners across Michigan's second largest city, striped tents and folding tables stocked with merchandise prelude the president's arrival. These out-of-town vendors have been following him around the country, pushing t-shirts and politics.
"We're here supporting Trump," said Mario Mays of Chicago, Illinois. "Just trying to get our country back on track."
From Mississippi to Minnesota, the employee of Florida-based company Superiorland Concessions has sold his stuff, stopping at a Grand Rapids gas station on Fuller and Knapp on Friday.
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"I get called Uncle Tom all the time," Mays, who is black, said. "I think some people just look at the television. [They are] not really paying attention to the world, what's really going on out here."
When a shooter opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania last weekend, killing one man and wounding others, including the former president, Mays was loading the truck. He and others thought they were fireworks.
"We just were all really mostly in shock and saddened by the situation," he said. "We tried to turn that pain into power."
Neatly folded and freshly printed, the assassination attempt also turned into t-shirts showing a bloodied Trump pumping his fist, available in three colors at the merchandise tent.
"Iconic," said Tyler Crowley, a Greenville resident who bought a flag, bucket hat and a shirt on Friday. He saw the set up while driving from work.
"Someone lost their life, so it's not happy by any means," Crowley said. "But it shows that [Trump] is willing to do everything to put himself out there."
"He's a real American," Mays added. "He's genuine and he really wants to help this country."
Superiorland Concessions works carnivals and sporting events, too, selling stuff without 45's face. But this weekend's sales — like many who will attend tomorrow's rally — come with Trump and will leave with him, too.
For more on FOX 17's coverage of Trump's visit to Grand Rapids, click here.
