A steady stream of customers arrives every morning at The Trumped Store and Coffee House in Show Low, Ariz. Beneath a sign that reads “Making Coffee Great Again,” barista Sean Lynch whips up a latte. He pours foam over espresso and milk, still fine-tuning his latte artwork.
“Sometimes I’ll make random abstract shapes, and I’ll be like, ‘Look that’s Trump’s head’,” Lynch jokes. “People will be like, ‘No way!’ ”
The store is full of customers from all over the state. Some come for the coffee, others for the vast collection of President Trump-inspired merchandise.
Rosemary Quesenberry drove three hours to buy a shirt. “I’m picking up the medium T-shirt again, ‘I’m an adorable deplorable,’ ” Quesenberry says.
Co-owners Steve Slaton and Karen MacKean cheer Quesenberry on. Slaton and MacKean opened the store in 2016 by converting a former mechanic’s garage into an unofficial campaign headquarters for then-candidate Donald Trump. The coffee shop came later.
They sell Trump teddy bears and rubber ducks, mugs and children’s books. There’s even a Trump toilet paper roll holder in the restroom. When you pull the toilet paper, it literally delivers the president’s message: “Our leaders are stupid … Our politicians are stupid … We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning.”
“We’re passionate conservatives. We are here to hopefully keep this very, very conservative area and keep it a strong republic,” MacKean says. “So, that’s why we so strongly support the president’s policies.”
The city of Show Low is home to many conservatives. Registered Republicans here outnumber Democrats 3 to 1.
Continue Reading: https://www.npr.org/2018/11/24/670513657/arizona-coffee-shop-is-the-one-stop-shop-for-all-things-trump