The Trump Store on Beechmont Avenue near Salem had been open for weeks, maybe even months, yet I have avoided the obvious story. Despite the appeal of what appears to be a gritty grassroots operation, I hesitated to dive into anything too political. But the photographer in me couldn’t resist the visual potential of a man waving a flag under a dynamic evening sky. Plus it gave me an opportunity to see what kind of pictures my new phone can take.
I only had ten minutes to snap photos and chat with the man before my daughter finished her piano lesson at Musicologie around the corner.
His name was Mark. A native of Cincinnati’s east side, he was helping out at the Trump Store, which had sprung up a couple of months prior. As I took photos and spoke with him, a steady rhythm of car horns sounded, accompanied by a few raised fists from passing windows. Customers browsed through stacks of Trump merchandise while cars squeezed in and out of the cramped parking lot.
“I’d say it’s about 75% positive and 25% negative,” Mark told me. “Mostly, it’s honks, thumbs up, fist pumps—‘fight, fight, fight,’” he explained. “Even the sheriffs honk. The rest? Mostly middle fingers, but nothing beyond that.”
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